We're Not Normal
by malenburke
Summary: Riley Matthews has been in the John Adams Special Preparatory Academy, or JASPA, ever since she was six years old. The students there are not normal. They are special, and it is amongst these people that Riley has found home. [AU]
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Are you sure there's no other option, sir?" Six-year-old Riley Matthews peeped through the crack in her bedroom door. In the living room downstairs, her parents were having a meeting with a very strange man in a black suit and dark shades. They had told her to go to her room, and Riley was rather confused.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am." The man's voice was low, raspy. Riley frowned as she heard her mother burst into sobs. Why was her mother crying? Did she do something wrong?

"We can't let go of her, sir," came her father's strained voice. "We just can't. She's our little girl."

Riley strained her ears to listen, but it was hard when they were so far. She tapped her foot nervously. She wanted to know what was going on.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly eased the door open. As she slipped out of her room, she tiptoed along the hallway and to the stairs. She knelt down at the top, before peeking down to see what was happening.

She could see her parents sitting across from the strange man. Riley found it rather odd that he still had his sunglasses on indoors. She frowned again in concern as she saw that her mother was crying. Her father was rubbing circles on her back, but Riley could see that he was upset too. For her unborn sibling's sake, Riley hoped that her mother was okay. She was excited about being a big sister and she didn't want the baby to die.

"It's for the best, I'm afraid," the strange man said, his mouth in a hard straight line. "She will be much more comfortable in the academy, where there will be others like her. She will also be able to learn how to control her abilities on top of a regular education."

"But we'll only be able to see her once a year?" her mother stammered tearfully. Riley's frown deepened. Who were they talking about?

"Yes," the man said with a nod. "during the academy's Christmas Week celebrations. You will be invited to the academy."

"So she will never be able to come home?" her father asked incredulously. The man pursed his lips and shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, but until she is eighteen she must remain in the academy. It is for her safety and the protection of the academy."

Her mother shook with her sobs. Riley really wanted to scramble down the stairs and throw her arms around her. She hated it when people cried. She didn't like it when people were in pain, and she liked that she was able to put people out of it.

"I sincerely apologise. It must be done. These are orders from the government," the man said. Riley didn't know why he was saying sorry, or what a government was, but she didn't like the way he talked.

Her parents were silent, her mother trying to contain herself. Finally her father nodded. "Alright then. If it is for her sake then… we will do it." The man nodded curtly, before sliding a piece of paper over to them.

"These are the conditions that apply. You must agree to them."

"We don't really have a choice, do we?" her mother said bitterly. The man pulled his lips back into a straight line. "I'm afraid not, ma'am."

There was more silence as her parents scanned over the document, firing questions at the man. Riley's mind was bursting with questions. A curious mind like hers couldn't take the suspense like this.

But she soon found that she wouldn't have to wait much longer.

"Riley!" Her father's call nearly made her jump out of her skin. Riley waited a few seconds before she descended down the stairs, staring at them curiously. She walked up to her parents.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Her mother quickly wiped her tears away, before turning to Riley. "Honey, we need to tell you something," she said, her voice wavering. Riley blinked at her before looking at her dad.

He got up before crouching down in front her. "Honey, you need to go somewhere okay? It's important."

"Where are we going, Daddy?" Riley asked, brimming with excitement. So it wasn't a bad thing after all. They were going on a trip.

Her dad forced a smile. "Not we, honey. Just you. You… you're going to make lots of new friends and have lots of fun, okay?"

Riley frowned. "How long am I gonna be there? Is it a day trip?"

Corey hoped that his young daughter, filled with hope and innocence, couldn't see the tears that filled his eyes. "You're gonna be there for a long time, honey. But we'll come see you. It… it's for the best."

And from that moment on, Riley Matthews was swept away to the world of JASPA. And things were never the same for her again.

* * *

 **Hello! It's malenburke back here again :) If you didn't already realise, I am a huge fan of Girl Meets World, perhaps more so than Descendants (but I also really love that movie). To all my readers who loved Her Ben, I'm sorry to say I may not be writing any more Descendants fanfiction unless I want to. Girl Meets World has always had a bigger place in my heart!**

 **To start off, let me just say that I only write fanfiction and publish here when I want to. I'll try to make it regular, but this is only one of the many things I enjoy doing. It is also not of top priority to me, though I wish it could be. Please understand that while you wait for an update :) I really want to share this story with you, but it has to be at my own pace.**

 **Now, down to the story. This is obviously an AU, where Riley and the gang are students in a school for kids with special abilities, that is to say, super powers. I enjoy stories about these kinds of things and seeing that there aren't a lot of Girl Meets World stories in this category, I decided to write one. Some things to take note before I get down to the actual story:**

 **1\. Lucas and Zay are the same age as the rest of the squad, not one year older. This is for plot convenience.**

 **2\. The Matthews family will not be featured much in this story, as the story remains inside the academy. Sad, I know.**

 **3\. This is a Rucas centric story, but it also includes Joshaya and Smarkle.**

 **I think that's it. I sincerely apologise if the characters seem OOC to you! I'm new to fanfiction writing so it may take some time for me to nail their personalities. Other than that, I hope you like the story :) Chapter 1 should be coming out soon!**

 **-malenburke**


	2. Chapter 1: Backstory

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World. I wish I did D: This Rucaya love triangle would have been resolved by now if I did.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1** : _**Backstory**_

"C'mon Riley, we're going to be late!" Maya whined, stomping her foot impatiently at Riley's door. Usually Maya didn't care if she was late, but this was breakfast and Maya wouldn't miss out on food for anything.

"Okay, okay, wait!" Riley exclaimed as she rushed around her room, grabbing her books and shoving them into her school bag before scrambling to put on her shoes. They were a present from Ms Willows for Riley's 9th birthday and she loved the shoes to bits.

Maya frowned. With a huff her features morphed, and she grew twenty inches taller. Her wavy blonde locks grew into straight, jet black hair tied in a bun. Her nose grew longer and straighter and her lips drew into a hard straight line. Her body and face matured as she peered down at Riley through glasses perched on her nose with a stern look.

"I'm Mrs Corlay, and I hate late children. I eat them if I get hungry," she said, her voice different. Riley glanced up at her best friend with horror.

"She does?!"

Maya shapeshifted back into herself with a scoff. "Of course not!"

Riley deflated with relief. "Good. What do you think we're going to learn today?" she asked Maya gleefully as she tied her laces. Maya shrugged.

"Who cares?"

"I do! I care!" Riley said with a small pout. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tugged at a knot.

Maya sighed. "Whatever Riley. We both know you love homework and school and learning and all that is good and right in this world. I only care about what's important right now, which is food. And you're stopping us from getting food."

"You have to care, Maya," Riley said. She finally stood up, swinging her bag over her shoulders and tugging at the straps. She cocked her head at her friend. "All these things are going to be important when we graduate."

Maya rolled her eyes. "We're still in 4th Year, Riley. We have like, ten years."

"Eight, actually."

"Whatever," Maya waved her off. "What I do know is that I'm a hungry ten-year-old who wants pancakes so let's go!"

Riley grinned and shut the door. The two girls linked arms and trooped down the carpeted hallway. The dorm rooms of John Adams Special Preparatory Academy were always warm and welcoming, while being classy and posh. The school was modeled after English boarding schools. It had a Victorian feel to it, with mahogany doors and beams running up to the ceiling. There were tall windows lining the halls, overlooking the vast gardens of the school. There were also many balconies and lovely corridors.

One thing that Riley loved was that her dorm room had a bay window. It was the one at the end of the corridor, and so her room was special. Maya's room was next door to her left, and the girls would always sit at the bay window to talk. She loved it. She felt like a princess living in a castle.

"Oh no!" Riley gasped. She came to a halt, nearly tugging Maya off balance. Maya threw her a bewildered look. "What?"

"I forgot my Math homework!" Riley said. "I have to go back and get it. Go on without me."

"No way!" Maya refused. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

"You want pancakes, right? Just go! I'll be there in five minutes."

Maya sighed. "Fine. Just hurry. You know how Mrs Corlay will be if you get there after nine." Riley nodded before spinning on her heel and heading back down the corridor to her room.

She stepped in and rushed to her desk, fumbling around with the papers until she found her homework. She carefully slid it into her bag before swinging the door open and dashing out.

Riley glanced at her watch. 8.50am. She scurried down the hallway, hoping she would make it to the dining hall in time. When she rounded the corner, Riley slammed straight into someone and crashed to the floor.

Pain shot up her arm as her elbow hit the floor. Riley winced. A yellow glow spread through her arm and she sighed with relief as the pain flowed out from her fingertips. She looked up to see who she had run into.

It was a boy she had never seen before. He had sandy brown hair and the brightest green eyes Riley had ever seen. He didn't look very happy, but seemed rather surprised.

Riley stood up, dusting her dress off. The boy was slightly taller than her, but she guessed that he was about her age. "Sorry about that," she apologised. "I can be really clumsy sometimes."

"It's alright," the boy mumbled, eyeing her warily. He didn't seem like the type to talk much.

Always eager to meet new people, Riley stretched out her hand. "I'm Riley. What's your name?"

The boy's gaze shifted down to her hand and back up to her eyes. Reluctantly, he took her hand. "I'm Lucas."

Riley smiled, shaking Lucas' hand. "Hi Lucas! I haven't seen you before. Did you just come here? How old are you?" Lucas nodded, still staring at her. "I'm ten."

Riley beamed. "Me too!"

Lucas hadn't agreed to this. He hated being trapped and feeling helpless. So when his parents agreed to have him sent off to this school, Lucas felt angrier than anything. He had always been a short-tempered boy and at the age of seven he would get into scuffles with the other kids in his class. And now here he was, with a girl who seemed like everything he wasn't. Bubbly, outspoken, and happy.

"We don't get a lot of new kids! This will be fun!" Riley chirped excitedly. "Where are you going? Are you late too? We have to hurry or Mrs Corlay will scold us and she's this mean lady with black hair in a bun and glasses on her nose so she looks like a witch when she looks down at you. Everyone hates her but I think she's okay."

Lucas didn't know what to say as the girl blabbered on. He had never been a social person and this girl could talk faster than he could run.

When Riley finished rambling, she looked at him curiously. "Why are you here? You should be in the dining hall."

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "I couldn't find the dining hall. Why are you here?" he retorted defensively.

"Forgot my homework," Riley answered casually, oblivious to the grouchy tone in his voice. She gazed at him. "You don't talk much, do you?" Lucas blinked.

She smiled. "That's okay. You'll make lots of friends and then you'll be talking."

Riley looked down at her watch and her eyes widened. "Oh no. We have three minutes! C'mon!" Lucas barely had time to talk before Riley grabbed his wrist and tugged him down the hallway. He stumbled over his feet, wondering if the first of the few friends he would have was this strange girl.

"I forgot to ask, which team were you assigned to?" Riley asked. Lucas didn't reply. He was confused. "Are you on Team Melba or Team Whinstle?"

Oh, that. "Melba," Lucas said simply, trying to catch his breath as Riley and him ran down the corridors. Riley beamed. "Great! My friends and I are all on Team Melba too!" Lucas was still confused about the team thing, but he didn't feel like showing how lost he was just yet.

It was nine o'clock when they made it to the dining hall. People were already eating, chatting amongst their own tables. Riley stopped at the entrance, looking around. Lucas made use of the momentary pause to stare around the dining hall. He had never seen so many strange people at once.

At the table nearest to them, a cup and a slice of toast danced through the air. Lucas blinked and suddenly, an older boy appeared, holding the cup and toast with a grin. His friends applauded, until another girl flicked her wrist and the toast shot out of his grasp and straight into her mouth. The table exploded with cheers, and Lucas swore he had never seen an odder bunch until he continued to look around.

Everywhere, kids had hands on fire, arms of stone, plants sprouting out of their palms, a small storm cloud above their heads, and too many other strange abilities to count. Lucas widened his eyes as red beams shot out of a fifteen-year-old's eyes, hitting the wall high up near the ceiling. His eyes landed on a lady with glasses barking at the girl. She must have been the lady Riley had been talking about.

Lucas flinched as something rushed past him, till he glanced to his right and saw a boy come to a stop at the queue, grinning with pride at his speed. It was most definitely the weirdest and most fascinating school cafeteria he had ever seen.

Meanwhile, Riley squinted around, trying to find her friends among the groups of teens and kids. She spotted Maya waving madly towards her, though Maya's face was filled with curiosity at the boy Riley had trapped in her clutch.

Riley dragged Lucas towards them, and Maya, Farkle and Smackle looked at him curiously. "Hi guys! Sorry I'm late."

"You're lucky you know. Mrs Corlay was staring at you real mean," Maya joked, before her eyes landed on Lucas. "Riles, who's this?"

Riley grinned. "This is Lucas. I ran into him in the hallway. He's new here," she explained, before turning to Lucas. "Lucas, this is Maya, Farkle and Isadora. We call her Smackle." The three greeted Lucas, and he gave them a curt nod.

"Let's go get food!" Riley said. She placed her bag down on the bench next to Maya, before Lucas did the same. Riley pulled him to the line.

"He doesn't seem like a friendly type," Farkle said, watching as Lucas stood there staring at Riley while she rambled on about the different foods they could get. Maya laughed. "Yeah. I think Riles is a bit too much for him."

"He's just angry. He doesn't like being here. But now he's curious about Riley," Smackle said. Maya sighed. "I wish I could tell what people are thinking like you, Smackle."

Smackle smiled. "I don't know exactly what he's thinking, but yeah. It is pretty amazing. But you can change into anyone you like." Maya grinned as she morphed into Smackle, and the two laughed.

It wasn't long before Riley and Lucas returned. The five dug into their food. They were halfway through their meals when Riley poked Maya. "It's my uncle." Maya's head shot up as Joshua Matthews approached them. He grinned as he reached their table, ruffling Riley's hair.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" the thirteen-year-old asked cheerfully. Just like his niece, Josh had special abilities. He was able to see the future, which was how he knew of his niece's presence at the academy before she was even got her abilities. She didn't even know he existed until she arrived, due to the academy's strict conditions on security and protection.

"Hi Josh," Maya and Riley greeted. "It's alright," Riley added, taking another bite of her pancakes. Josh's head turned to Lucas. "Who's the new kid?"

"This is Lucas," Riley introduced Lucas for the second time that day. Lucas gave Josh a nod. Josh gave him a warm smile. "Welcome to JASPA, Lucas. If you hang around my niece, I think you'll do fine."

By now Lucas was extremely confused at how a guy who was at most three years older than them could be Riley's uncle. But there would be time for questions later.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Josh said, clapping his hands together. "Gotta prepare for the Bravo tourney game. Team Melba is going down!" More questions in Lucas' head.

"No way, Melba is going to beat Whinstle this time!" Farkle said firmly. Josh laughed. "Sorry guys, but your team has been losing since forever. I'm sorry if I'm on the better team."

"Okay, bye Uncle Josh!" Riley shooed him. Josh frowned. "Don't call me that."

"Bye Uncle Josh!" Riley and Maya called out once more. Josh rolled his eyes and turned away to greet his friends. "Your uncle is cool Riley," Maya sighed. "I want to be as good as him at tourney one day."

"You will be, Maya," Riley assured her. "You're already on the Charlie tourney team for Melba."

Maya smiled. "Yeah, and I'm going to kick Whinstle butt at tomorrow's Charlie game!" Riley gave her friend a thumbs up.

"Guys, look at this new gadget I invented!" Farkle told them excitedly, pulling a small raygun out from his bag.

"What is it?" Riley asked.

"Let me show you!" Farkle grinned as he aimed the gun at his toast. They watched as the red beams were absorbed into the slice, before the bread became more crisp. Farkle picked it up and bit into it with a crunch, smiling. "Toast, but toastier."

"I can do that." They all turned to Lucas. It was the first word he had said since he sat down, and they were a little taken aback. He picked up his slice of bread.

They watched with wide eyes as his hand glowed red, and the bread grew golden brown.

"Woah, that's so cool!" Maya exclaimed. "That's your power?" Lucas nodded. "Something called heat manipulation. What're all of yours?"

Maya smirked. Lucas blinked as she changed into him, sandy brown hair, green eyes and all, before changing back into herself. "Shapeshifting."

Farkle waved his raygun. "I'm a genius. I use it to build stuff."

Smackle leaned over the table. "I can read people. Not exactly your minds, but enough to know what your motives, feelings and intentions are. I would show you, but you'll probably just get weirded out and run away."

Lucas nodded slowly, eyeing her warily. Lastly he turned to Riley. "What can you do?"

Riley blushed. "I'm not sure how to show it to you."

"Here, I'll help," Maya offered, picking her knife up. Riley's head spun around to face her. "Maya, don't-"

With one swift movement, Maya drew her knife across her palm, making a cut. It wasn't deep, but Lucas winced.

"Maya, I could have just told him!" Riley shrieked in horror, but Maya ignored her and stretched her palm out past Riley to Lucas. His wide eyes stared down at it. It was bleeding. And he had no idea what was going on.

Riley quickly placed her hands around Maya's. There was a yellow glow, and when Riley removed her hands, Lucas' eyes almost fell out of his sockets. The cut was gone, replaced by the smooth skin of Maya's hand, stained by a bit of blood. It was like the cut was never there.

"Wow, you can heal?" Lucas said incredulously, turning to Riley. Maya grinned and grabbed a napkin to wipe her hand clean. Riley smiled and nodded shyly.

Lucas nodded slowly, the corners of his little mouth twitching up into a small smile. He looked around as Maya and Farkle started arguing about whether chicken pot pie or sloppy joe was better.

Maybe this new place wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

* * *

Riley's eyes flew open. She just couldn't sleep. Glancing at the digital clock on her bedstand, she saw that it was nearly midnight. She sighed. It was nights like this that her thoughts would drift to the zone of questions she couldn't even answer. Why did she have abilities? Why couldn't they be free to wander outside the academy? Why couldn't they see their parents?

Riley couldn't answer any of that.

She froze as she heard a door creak from the hallway. Sitting up slowly, she frowned at her door. _No one should be out past ten_ , she thought. She felt dread settle. What if it was Maya? Her best friend had a reputation for being rebellious, and many of the teachers didn't get along well with her. She didn't want her getting into any more trouble.

Throwing her blankets off, Riley marched to the door and slowly eased it open. She prepared to hiss at Maya as she poked her head out the door, when she spotted Lucas silently walking down the hallway and disappearing around the corner.

His door was the one on her right, next to Farkle's. Realising that Lucas may not have been aware of the rules, Riley panicked and slipped into her shoes, before stepping out and closing the door.

Her heart pounded. She had never been out this late. She hated the idea of getting caught by the teachers, but what scared her more was the dark. At night, the academy was different. It was creepy and shadowy, the corridors lit with dim lamps, with animals crying out in the distant forests surrounding the compound.

She tiptoed down the hall, but upon realising that the carpet meant her footsteps were silent, she speed walked instead and peeked around the corner. Lucas was heading up the staircase. Riley was torn between going back to bed before she got into trouble and following him. But there was something about the boy that intrigued Riley, and she didn't want him to get into trouble.

Looking around, Riley quickly ran to the stairs and followed him up.

She frowned when she spotted him. He was going all the way up to the fifth floor, the top floor. There was nothing much there but store rooms and some random guest rooms. Not that the academy got many guests, anyway. Only the parents of the students during Christmas week.

She held her breath as she spotted a guard on patrol. Dashing up to the next landing, she hoped that he would pass the stairwell. But he turned in and started climbing.

Riley panicked and fled up the stairs, trying to not to make any noise. Luckily the guard didn't notice anything, but he seemed to be heading up with her.

When Riley reached the top floor, she shivered. It was dreadfully cold up here. Whirling around, she heard the guard coming and ran down the right hallway. To her horror, there was a dead end, and she could hear the guard coming her way. She looked around. There was nothing to hide in or behind, and no doors to try and open so she could escape.

For a split second Riley considered just revealing herself and confessing to her crime. It would be better than being caught. But her eyes landed on an opened window in the hallway. She could see that over the window ledge was a balcony.

Scrambling to the window, she pulled herself up and out of the window just as the guard turned the corner, her feet landing on the hard stone floor. It was a cold night, and Riley regretted not bringing a jacket, but she crouched down, held her breath and kept silent. She could hear the guard walk past the window to the dead end, before turning around and heading down the left corridor.

Riley heaved a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?"

Riley nearly screamed as she fell back and landed on her bottom, before turning her head to see Lucas sitting against the wall beside the window. He was staring at her curiously.

Riley deflated with relief. "It's you, Lucas. You nearly scared my pants off."

Lucas didn't say anything, eyeing the girl as she walked over and slid down next to him.

"You're supposed to be in your room," Riley told him. "I don't know if you know, but we shouldn't be out past ten."

"I know," Lucas mumbled. He was staring out at the dark sky. Below, the gardens of the school sprawled out till the gate. Beyond that, there were a few village shops and buildings. There was an entire shopping and entertainment district made just for the students and staff of JASPA.

Riley knew that the older students in Bravo and Alpha were allowed to go there by themselves, but since Riley and her other friends were still in Charlie, they could only go there during designated trips with their teachers.

Mountains and forest could be seen behind the village. The thick landscape sprawled out beyond and all around them, hiding them from the rest of the world. Nobody knew where their exact location was, not even the teachers and guards. Only the Headmaster and the President knew. They were untouched by the rest of civilisation.

"I have a lot of questions," Lucas said suddenly, turning to her. Riley looked at him. "Okay. What do you want to ask?"

"What's tourney?"

"Oh, that's the sport we play here," Riley said. "You'll see what it's about tomorrow during the Charlie game."

"What's Charlie?" Lucas asked.

"Well, everyone here is aged six to eighteen," Riley started off. "To make things easier they split us up. The 1st Years to 4th Years are the Charlie class, 5th Years to 8th Years are Bravo class, and 9th Years to 12th Years are the Alpha class, the oldest in the school."

"People like to joke about our classmate Charlie owning an entire class," Riley said with a small giggle. "Have you met him?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, his room is two doors down. He said he was in Team Whinstle. What's Melba and Whinstle?"

"It's just the teams they split us into for tourney," Riley answered. "Other than tourney we don't have a lot of competitions, so the only time we split up is for tourney. But people take it very seriously, so we tend to stick with people in our team."

By now Lucas had turned to face the view. Riley did the same, the two children staring curiously at the world that was so close but so far. "Farkle, Maya and Smackle are in Melba?"

Riley nodded cheerfully. "Yup. We don't mind hanging around with the Whinstle people. There are only eleven of us in 4th Year anyway. But I like my friends. And now they're your friends too!"

Lucas was silent. The concept of friends had always been rather foreign to him. Maybe it was because in his entire life he had only ever had one friend, who he left behind and would never see for another eight years. He would soon be forgotten, and by the time he got out he would have no one.

But he turned to the girl next to him. She was smiling up at the stars twinkling in the sky, lost in her thoughts. He could feel his usually stoic face soften. Something about Riley made him feel at ease, like everything was okay in the world. Her presence calmed him somehow. And being only ten years old, that unknown warmth radiating from the quirky girl next to him puzzled and scared him.

He didn't know what it was about her that automatically made him like her. Was it her happiness? Was it her radiant smile? Was it the fact that while his short life had been nothing but bitterness, hers was sunshines and rainbows? Was it because while he often felt the familiar pang of anger, while she only seemed to feel patience and compassion?

Riley was unlike any person Lucas had ever seen in his life. It scared him that he knew nothing about her, yet he found himself being drawn to her every second she spent with him. Shaking his thoughts away, he decided to distract himself with the conversation.

"How is Josh your uncle?" he asked. Riley smiled, before shifting her body to face him with crossed legs. "It's a long story. Do you wanna hear it?" Lucas nodded as he faced her.

"Okay, so you know how once you're sent off to the academy, only your parents can know?" He nodded again. "They alter the memories of everyone else who knew you. Even your siblings. I heard that they restore them after you graduate, but they won't remember you having powers. My dad doesn't remember Josh, and neither do my uncle and my aunt. And for me, I have a little brother named Auggie. I loved him before he was even born, but then I got sent here. He doesn't know I exist."

Lucas felt sadness and pity sink into his heart as Riley paused. She stared down at her hands silently. "Yet. He doesn't know I exist _yet_ ," she added, looking up with a smile. "He will someday."

It amazed Lucas. How she could surprise him with every bout of hope and optimism she threw out. Riley was more bent on being positive than anything. He wondered how she had not given up yet.

"Anyway, I didn't know my uncle existed until I came here. They restored my memories when I did, and I remembered him leaving when I was only three. I don't remember much about him before he left, but when I came here he told me he was my uncle. Josh can see the future, you see, so he saw me coming two years before I got here."

Lucas thought that was pretty cool. Maybe Josh could tell him about how his life would turn out here.

"We became really close quickly, since we're the only family we have," Riley said. Then she smiled. "Except maybe Maya. Maya is my best friend. We met the first day we arrived here. I was really quiet and nervous but Maya was really nice to me. And she's tough, so no one dares to mess with me. We tell each other everything."

 _Maybe I'll find someone like that one day,_ Lucas thought to himself.

"So, tell me about yourself. What's your backstory?" Riley said. "Everyone has a backstory. Like the characters in my books. We all have something that made us who we are. What's yours?"

Lucas paused. Did he want to tell her? Riley caught the silence, so she spoke. "Okay, I'll start first."

Lucas felt the relief wash over him. He would have time to think about it while she talked. He looked at her as she began.

"My name is Riley Matthews, I'm ten years old, and I can heal myself and other people too." She smiled as she started with the basics. "My best friend is Maya Hart, my other good friends are Farkle Minkus and Isadora Smackle. I like reading and princesses and ponies and puppies and bunnies and purple," she gushed, and Lucas had to smile slightly at her innocence. "I used to live in New York with my parents, and I used to think that no one really liked me. I had friends, but they weren't really close friends. Anyway, my favourite teacher here is Ms Willows and I like to put ketchup in mac-and-cheese."

Lucas scrunched his nose up. Ketchup in mac-and-cheese? Riley took a deep breath and looked at him. "I think that's it. I don't really have a lot to say. My life was pretty normal. How about you? Tell me about yourself."

Considering how she was the only person he could talk to at the moment, he decided to open up.

"My name is Lucas Friar, I'm ten years old, and I can make my hands glow red and hot."

"Tell me something else. What do you like doing? What's your favourite colour? Where do you come from? Who are your friends?"

It was a lot of questions for Lucas, so he answered them one by one. "I like basketball, which I can't do anymore. I like blue. I come from Texas."

Who were his friends? It was a rather loaded question the more Lucas thought about it, so he answered simply. "I have a friend back home. His name is Isaiah, but I call him Zay," he told her. He liked how she looked at him with her big brown eyes and genuine interest, and gave him all her attention. It made him feel that maybe he mattered to someone.

"Tell me about Texas," she urged.

"I lived on a ranch. I had twenty-four horses. Well, my family did," Lucas quickly corrected. Riley nodded eagerly. "I really liked the horses. I think they were my friends too. I didn't really have a lot of friends except for Zay."

"Why?" Curiosity and confusion flashed across Riley's face. She couldn't understand how a boy like Lucas didn't have friends. Sure, he seemed to be kind of grumpy and quiet, but Riley saw that he just wanted to be heard, just like everyone else. He just needed someone to be there for him. He definitely wasn't so bad.

She watched as Lucas' gaze dropped. He hesitated, wondering if he should tell her. Would she be scared off? He lifted his eyes back up to Riley.

No. She would not. Lucas knew it as his green eyes looked into her brown ones.

"I guess I have a short temper," Lucas started, watching her face for a reaction. When she showed none, he continued. "I didn't get along with a lot of the kids in my class. And I got angry with them easily. I even got into a few fights. No one wanted to be friends with me. Only Zay."

His eyes dropped once again. He could never admit when he had a flaw, but here he was telling a girl he had met only fourteen hours ago his life story. "Even my parents didn't like hanging around with me. I got angry at them too, and I yelled a lot," he continued, feeling a lump in his throat. "One day I started burning things the moment I touched them. My hands would glow red. When I got into a fight with a boy in my class and hurt him because my hand glowed red on his face, a man in a suit and glasses came to my house. He told my parents I would have to be sent here. They agreed at once, and here I am."

There was a silence. Lucas fought to stop himself from crying. He hardly cried, and when he did they were always angry tears. But as he talked to Riley, he found himself wishing that he could have made things better with his parents. Maybe they wouldn't have wanted to get rid of him so quickly. He didn't even know if he had any reason to hate the school. There was nothing for him back in Texas and it wasn't as though he had a choice anyway.

"Don't be sad Lucas." He looked up to see Riley gazing at him kindly. "You seem like a great person. Besides, we all have our bad sides."

"If I'm so great, why do I only have one friend?" he muttered. He was caught off guard when Riley hugged him.

"Two," she mumbled softly. "You have two friends."

He was speechless as she pulled back, smiling. "And you'll have many more here. I know it."

Part of him doubted she was right. Maybe he would get angry, maybe he would hurt people. Maybe no one would want anything to do with him. He couldn't help it when he was upset. But something told Lucas that Riley was worth believing in. "You really think so?"

She smiled wider, nodding. "I know so. You can start with me."

And then Lucas realised it. Hope. That was what she gave him. The warmth he felt was hope. If someone as innocent and happy as Riley could see the light in him, who was to say that no one else would?

"I guess you are my friend."

Lucas watched as a wide grin spread across Riley's face. "Yaaaayyy," she said goofily, smiling from ear to ear. Lucas couldn't help but smile back. She really was very odd.

* * *

 **There you go! Chapter 1. This chapter is supposed to set the background context for the rest of the story. Plus, I thought it would be nice to explore how Riley and Lucas met. As you can see, Lucas arrived at the age of ten, not thirteen like on the show. Lucas is still rather brooding and quiet here. The next chapter will be the actual start of the story, set five years after this one.**

 **Oh yeah, if anyone doesn't know what tourney is, it's a fictional sport which I took from Descendants because it looks like such a fun sport. So all credit for the sport goes to the creators of Descendants! Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading :)**

 **-malenburke**


	3. Chapter 2: Five Years Later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World or any of the characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** _ **Five Years Later**_

Riley tapped her pencil on the wooden desk. Her head was rested lazily in her hand, eyes staring blankly at the clock. In five minutes, her Algebra II lesson would be over and she could free herself from this boredom.

As much as Riley loved learning, Mathematics was the one subject she never grasped very well. Sure, she could do basic calculations and algebra, but she couldn't understand how Pythagoras' Theorem and the quadratic formula would help her manage her bank account.

As a result, she could hardly pay attention in class. Mr Brunwell was going through complicated equations and calculations on the board. At least, they were complicated to her. Math was the only class Riley couldn't get an A in. In recent years she had stopped worrying too much about it. There were just some things you couldn't do, and there were only so many problems a fifteen-year-old with special abilities could handle.

Her eyes drifted mindlessly to the side. She paused.

Lucas sat in the seat to her left. His brilliant green eyes caught her brown ones, a small smile on his face.

Every time Riley looked at Lucas, she couldn't help but admire how well growing up had turned out for him. Sure, he had always been good-looking, but over the past six years he had really started to change.

He had an athletic build, strong arms capable of carrying Riley with ease if he had to. He was very handsome indeed, with his sandy brown hair and his green eyes which only seemed to twinkle brighter each year. With happiness, and light. And most of all, he smiled more, something that Riley absolutely loved.

He had a beautiful smile, and if there was one thing that Riley was thankful for, it was that he had learned to be happy.

Here they were, five years later. Riley loved her friends. Maya teased Lucas for his Texas background, but Lucas had learned to have fun with it. Zay, Lucas' friend from Texas, appeared at the academy in their 6th Year. When his memories were restored they were joyfully reunited. They were all happy, and they were the closest to family each of them had.

And now Lucas Friar was sitting across the aisle, smiling in amusement.

She smiled back and narrowed her eyes at him, her chin still rested in her palm.

His smile grew wider, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. He knew she was bored. He saw it every day in Math class. Riley gestured to Mr Brunwell, who was oblivious to their exchange since they were seated near the back of the class. She pouted, and Lucas chuckled under his breath.

Farkle, seated in front of Riley, turned around at the sound. He gave them both a look, before turning back to face the front. Riley grinned at the back of his head, which towered over her.

Puberty had hit Farkle like a truck. He began to grow quickly the previous year, and his voice got deeper. Now, he was arguably rather good-looking, something that pleasantly surprised Riley. People used to poke fun at him, like Billy Ross for instance. Riley found it revolting sometimes, how people only noticed him when he became handsome. There was so much more to Farkle and his beautiful brain. But she was proud of him nonetheless. He had gotten past the teasing.

Riley turned back to Lucas.

He was staring at her again. Normally Riley would blush, but it was Lucas. The two were too close for that. So Riley did what she usually did. She stared back.

The two had grown accustomed to these random staring contests.

The corners of his mouth curved up in a smile. His green eyes glinted challengingly, and Riley just widened hers even more and willed herself not to blink.

Winning this was easy. All Riley had to do was get lost in his eyes. It wasn't that hard. He had amazing eyes. It was one of her favourites out of his features. Even though they were a metre apart, she could still see how vivid they were. They were like emeralds, glittering amongst the muted colours of their classroom.

It wasn't until the bell rang that she blinked, and caught the same look she was giving him in his eyes. But it vanished quickly, a grin stealing his features. Riley groaned inwardly as she gathered her things and stood up.

"You lost," Lucas' smiling voice rang out from next to her. She sighed and turned to face him. "I know," she drawled exaggeratedly, before shrugging. "It was a good fight." She dramatically stretched her hand out to him, and he shook it with mock seriousness.

"You two really need to pay attention in class," Farkle remarked, shaking his head as he cleared his desk. Smackle nodded with agreement, standing up with her books in her arms.

"Don't think I can't feel you not paying attention from behind me," she chided Lucas. "I can still tell what you're doing."

"Hey, Maya and Zay are the ones not paying attention," Lucas argued. Their heads turned to face the mentioned two.

Maya dozed silently on the desk behind Lucas'. She had asked to swap with him so that she could sleep in peace at the back. Next to her in the table behind Riley's, Zay was absent-mindedly staring into space.

Lucas snapped his fingers, and Zay jumped. They laughed at his stunned face. "Class is over already?"

Riley crossed over to Maya's table, gently shaking her. "Peaches, wake up," Riley said. Maya wouldn't budge. Her left ear was pressed to the table, her arms crossed lazily in front of her.

"Here, let me do it," Zay volunteered. He stood up, and raised his hand over Maya.

Riley widened her eyes. "Zay, don't-"

With one swift stroke, Zay brought his hand down and slammed it onto Maya's desk with a loud bang.

Maya jolted awake, tilting dangerously before crashing to the floor. She looked around wildly, her hand clapped over her left ear.

"Mr Babineaux!" Mr Brunwell barked. The other six 9th years turned their heads towards the commotion.

"Zay, she's going to kill you," Farkle muttered. Sure enough, Maya's eyes landed on Zay, who had his hand still pressed to her desk. Her eyes narrowed into a deadly glare, and her mouth twisted into a scowl.

"You know, you kinda look like Mrs Corlay. Way to go, shapeshifter," Zay joked nervously. Maya's scowl deepened, and a low growl rumbled from her throat. Lucas slapped a palm to his face.

"Okay, I'm gonna run now," Zay sputtered, moving backwards slowly, before dashing out of the classroom as Maya leapt to her feet, dodged Lucas' grasp and chased after him. Mr Brunwell shook his head in disapproval.

"I guess we can bid Zay goodbye," Yindra joked, the whole class staring out the door.

"Maya won't kill him. She won't!" Riley insisted as Jeffrey, Sarah and Yindra threw her doubtful looks.

"We should go make sure," Farkle mused. Riley and Lucas grabbed Maya and Zay's things, and everyone headed out for lunch.

After stopping by their lockers to swap their books, they made their way to the dining hall. In the dining hall, they found Maya and Zay in the line, with Zay rubbing his forearm in pain. Maya looked pleased, her hands folded innocently.

"Your best friend might become a gang member. Or a sumo wrestler. Or a serial killer," Zay muttered to Riley as they all fell in line behind them. "She is a lot stronger than she lets on."

Maya scoffed. "We all know I'm strong."

"Yeah," Smackle added with a short laugh. "She's on the tourney team for a reason."

"I _was_ on the tourney team," Maya corrected. "For Charlie and Bravo. We need to see if I make it for Alpha at tryouts later."

"You will," Lucas said casually as he peeked over their heads at the food. Maya turned and arched an eyebrow at him. "Now Huckleberry, since when do you have such confidence in me?"

Lucas smiled and shook his head. "You're a good player Short Stack," he said, ignoring a glare from the blonde. "I'm not gonna deny it."

"Yeah well, you're not so bad yourself Ranger Rick. You're almost as good as me." Lucas rolled his eyes.

After getting their food, they were cracking jokes and flicking bits of food at each other when Billy Ross, a 10th Year student, came over.

"Oh great, it's Mr Peacock," Maya groaned under her breath as he reached their table.

"Friar!" he greeted enthusiastically, clapping a hand on Lucas' shoulder. He gave Maya a glance. "Hart."

Maya gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah, anyway…" Billy turned back to Lucas. "See you at the tryouts later! I'm confident you'll get in. Melba needs a strong player like you."

"Thanks Billy. You can expect Maya and I to be on the team," Lucas said with a polite smile. Billy gave him a skeptical look. His gaze shifted to Maya.

"No offense, Hart," he said, "but no girl has ever made it onto the Alpha teams." Maya's face hardened.

"She was on the team for Bravo and Charlie," Riley pointed out helpfully. Maya gave her a grateful smile.

"Yeah, I know," Billy said, the smugness in his tone intensifying. "But Alpha games are way more hardcore. I just don't think you'll make the cut. I mean, there have been other girls in the Bravo and Charlie teams, but not in Alpha. Alpha games are rough and tough."

Maya laughed mirthlessly. "You trying to say I'm not rough and tough enough?"

"That rhymed," Zay mumbled.

Billy folded his arms. "Maybe. You're a girl after all."

"It's very backward of you to assume that she can't do it because she's a girl," Farkle said.

"Yeah, Maya can play just as well as any of you," Riley added.

"Don't pretend you don't feel threatened," Smackle said with a false sweetness. "You've seen Maya play and you know she's star quality. You're worried. Stop trying to prevent her from joining to settle your insecurities." If Riley could, she would give Smackle a big trophy and a Nobel Prize in sass.

Billy narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Just basing it on the facts. Girls are physically weaker."

"I'll show you weak!" Maya snarled, shooting to her feet and lunging for Billy.

"Hey hey hey!" Josh cut in with hands outstretched just as Lucas held Maya back. Maya was in the midst of transforming, her arms morphing into the muscular ones of a wrestler before fading back to her own. Billy's hands crackled with electricity, ready to fight. Josh frowned. He had seen this incident coming a few weeks ago.

"Ross, what's going on here?" he demanded. Billy raised his hands in surrender, the sparks of energy fading.

"Nothing, Matthews," he insisted. "Was just wishing Friar good luck."

"Liar!" Maya snapped. "Maya, sit down," Riley said, her voice gentle but firm. Maya slowly sank back down onto the bench.

"What do you care anyway? You're Whinstle's Captain, not Melba's," Billy added.

Josh folded his arms. "Well, I care about my niece and her friends. So if you're disturbing them, I suggest you stop."

"He said Maya won't make the team because no girl has," Zay told him. Josh's eyebrows shot up.

"Is that so?" He turned to Billy. Billy shifted nervously.

"I'll have you know that Maya is an excellent player. She's been a threat to Whinstle for eight years," Josh said as-a-matter-of-factly. "If you have a problem with her being on the team, you're missing her valuable potential."

Billy cast Maya a hard stare. Maya glared back, but Riley saw the redness in her cheeks. She knew it was because of her uncle's words.

"Now, please leave before I bring this to your dearest Captain Davis," Josh said calmly. Billy's eyes widened and he walked off.

"Geez, what a jerk," Zay muttered as they all sat back down. "Don't listen to him Maya. You'll make it onto the team," Farkle added. Maya gave him a small smile.

Smackle shook her head. "I hate it when people put other people down just because of their own insecurities. But from the looks of it, Billy won't give Maya a hard time for a while," she said.

"Way to go for using Miles Davis to scare him off," Lucas laughed. Josh smirked. Miles Davis was the Alpha team captain for Melba, and he was one of the nicest guys in the whole school. But he held a significant amount of authority, and he was good friends with Josh despite being on rival teams.

"Please, Miles is my buddy and a good guy. He'd kick Billy off if he had to," Josh said. He turned to Maya. Riley noted how his face was filled with hesitation, and she realised that he must have already known what was about to happen. But his features softened with hope, that maybe he could be wrong about this.

"Hey. You okay?"

It was then that Riley noticed that Maya's gaze was pointing towards the floor. She looked up at him briefly, before turning to her food. "Yeah. Thanks."

Riley saw the disappointment wash over her uncle's face. A familiar look in recent weeks. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'll see you guys later. Good luck at tryouts." With that, he walked off. Riley glanced at Smackle. Smackle pursed her lips. She had caught it too.

A silence fell over the group as they finished up their lunch.

When Lucas, Farkle and Smackle went to clear their plates, Riley turned to Maya. "What was that for?"

"What was what for?" Maya chewed on her pasta, twirling the last of it with her fork.

"Why were you so-"

Maya stood up as the reminder bell rang. "Lunch is almost over. Let's talk about this later, okay Riles?" She walked off to return her plate and Riley sighed. She watched her best friend walk to the bin.

She had noticed this for a while. Maya was avoiding Josh as much as she could, and when they did have to talk, she was always very cold towards him. Her uncle seemed quite upset by it.

Even Smackle had noticed. Well, of course Smackle had noticed. When Riley asked her for her analysis, Smackle told her that Maya liked Josh as usual, but she was trying to protect him from something. She was avoiding him because she felt it was for his own good.

Riley didn't know why she was doing that and neither did Smackle. It bothered her. Riley decided to get to the bottom of it by the end of the week.

"Hey."

Riley blinked and looked up. Lucas was smiling down at her with amusement. "You going to class?"

Riley smiled and stood up. "Yeah. Thought I would."

"Are you okay?" he asked, his face full of concern. "You seem worried about something."

"It's nothing," she replied as she shook her head. She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, if you say so…" he trailed off, clearly unconvinced. Riley cleared her plate, and the two followed their friends into the hallway.

Riley laughed when she saw Lucas eyeing her with worry. "Luke, calm down! I'm fine, okay?" She teasingly pinched his cheek, earning a face from him. "The only thing you should worry about is Maya outshining you at tryouts."

Lucas rolled his eyes, swatting her hand away.

* * *

Riley yawned. Lessons were over for the day, and she was at her locker packing her books for homework into her bag. All around her, the students were buzzing about tourney tryouts that were to start in about an hour. Maya and Lucas had already left to prepare.

"Hi Riley."

Riley shut her locker and turned in surprise. Her face relaxed. "Hi Charlie."

Charlie Gardner smiled. "Where's Maya and Lucas? I was gonna head for tryouts with them."

"They already went back to the dorms to get ready," Riley told him. Charlie nodded with understanding. "Are you trying out too?" Riley asked.

Charlie grinned. "Yeah. I won't be too disappointed if I don't get in, but it would be nice."

"I'm sure you will," Riley assured him. "You've been on the team since we were in Charlie." The two laughed. For their class the joke never really got old.

"Well, I just wanted to say hi," Charlie said with a grin.

"Hi." Riley smiled.

He laughed, and kept his gaze on her. Riley smiled comfortably, oblivious to the fact that he was staring just a moment too long. "See you later, Riley."

"See you, Charlie!" Riley called out as Charlie walked off with a wave. Her bag over her shoulder, Riley headed for the dorms to freshen up, before joining her other classmates for their weekly gathering in the school gardens.

* * *

 **The story has barely begun :) What do you think of Billy as the bad guy? I honestly liked his character in the original series and I wish he had appeared more often, but he seemed suitable for this role in my story.**

 **I shortened the chapters just so I could update more often. I'll get the next one out as soon as I can!**

 **-malenburke**


	4. Chapter 3: Undercurrent

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:** _**Undercurrent**_

Riley was walking through the Gardens with Zay, Farkle and Smackle.

"Where did Yindra say to meet again?" Riley craned her neck to get a look around the gardens.

"The big oak," Farkle replied. "We'll get there with the help of my tracker." His mentioned tracker beeped.

"Farkle, we know where the big oak is," Smackle said.

"I know," he responded, eyes still glued to the screen of his tracker. "I just want to test it. It senses when other humans are in the vicinity. The oak is this way." He pointed through the familiar cluster of trees that sheltered the pathway, which opened onto a grassy hill.

"I already have a sensor," Zay drawled. "I can hear them talking from literally a mile away."

"Not everyone has big fat ears Zay," Riley joked. Zay gave her a hurt look. "It's enhanced hearing, Riley. At least make it sound smart."

As they reached the hill, they saw their other classmates already waiting at the top. The big oak branched out over them, a lone tree standing out against the sky. Their class hung out at the gardens every week, changing the venue every time.

"Hey guys," Riley greeted them. The Whinstle 9th Years said their hellos as they settled down.

"Zay!" Yindra called out cheekily. "I smelled your strong odour from a mile away."

"Yindra! I heard your loud babbling from a mile away," Zay retorted. "Quit trying to outshine me in enhanced senses."

"Oh shut it you guys," Sarah scolded, a smile playing at her lips.

"Did Darby go for tryouts too?" Smackle asked. Sarah nodded. "Yup. Her and Charlie. And Maya and Lucas too of course."

"Well I hope they make it onto the team. Especially Maya and Darby," Riley sighed.

"It's about Billy Ross isn't it?" Yindra said grimly. "I saw what happened in the dining hall." Riley and Farkle nodded.

"What happened?" Yogi piped up, his voice cracking. They all laughed. Yogi had begun to hit a growth spurt. He had always been very short, but he was beginning to shoot up and his voice was changing. Like Farkle did the previous year.

"Billy seems to think that girls can't make it onto the Alpha teams," Jeffrey said softly. He was moulding a pile of dirt. As he slowly lifted his finger, water seeped up from the ground and into his little sculpture, softening the features.

He flicked his wrist up suddenly, and balls of pure water shot up from the ground.

"Me! I'm thirsty," Farkle said, before opening his mouth wide. Jeffrey smiled and a ball of water shot to Farkle. He swallowed it down gratefully.

"My Darby can do way more than that stinking Billy Ross," Yogi huffed as Jeffrey's water blobs splashed back to the ground.

"I think so too," Riley added proudly. "I'm confident that the Alpha teams will have girls this year."

"I get where Billy's coming from, but I don't know why he has to be such an asshole about it," Yindra muttered. "It's not like it's impossible for girls right? It just hasn't happened yet."

"Yeah, and he's making us men look like bigoted ignorant idiots," Farkle added, tinkling with his tracker. Smackle shoved him playfully.

"Men, you said. You're hardly a man."

"Are you trying to insult me?" Farkle challenged, his eyes glinting. Riley giggled. "You'll always be our little wonk, Farkle."

"Whatever you say, 'Mom'." Farkle rolled his eyes. Riley and Smackle laughed.

"Well, tryouts are almost over," Sarah said. She eyed Farkle's tracker, and it shot out of his hands and into her own.

"Hey!" Farkle exclaimed. "That's mine."

"I just wanna see," Sarah chuckled. "And also work on my telekinesis. With no hands!"

"Riley, how has Charlie been?" Yindra asked suddenly, playfulness seeping through her voice. Everyone seemed to perk up, except for Farkle, who was now toying with his laser pen. Riley gave her a confused look. "He hangs out with you more than me. You tell me."

"Does she not know?" Yindra turned to Smackle. Smackle shook her head. Riley was even more confused, but she had a sinking feeling that she knew what this was about.

"Charlie likes you," Jeffrey said casually, going back to working on his sculpture.

"Way to rip the band-aid off, Jeff," Zay joked.

"What?!" Riley gasped. They all laughed except for Farkle.

"Seriously?" Farkle mumbled in surprise, eyes wide.

"Doesn't take a genius to figure it out," Yindra said. She paused. "Well, maybe not you Farkle." He stuck his tongue out at her. "Riley, how have you not noticed?" Smackle asked with a chuckle.

"Not all of us can read people, Smackle," Riley sighed. "And I thought we were over this! I thought he didn't like me anymore!"

"Apparently not," Sarah shrugged.

"C'mon, he doesn't like me anymore," Riley insisted.

"That's not what my eyes tell me," Smackle mused. "And my eyes are hardly wrong."

"Yeah Riley, Charlie still likes you," Sarah said grinning. "He told me himself."

Riley groaned, dropping her head into her hands. She felt the redness creeping onto her cheeks. Charlie had been infatuated with Riley in their 8th Year. They had gone on several dates, but Riley always felt that they were never right. Charlie understood, of course. He was the only other boy who could rival Lucas in gentlemanliness.

But what had puzzled Riley was how strange Lucas had acted. He usually liked Charlie, but for that year he was always wary and rather unfriendly around him. Riley saw traces of his irritability resurfacing. She hadn't been sure why, but Maya had enlightened her on the situation with Smackle's help.

Jealousy. Lucas had been jealous. It scared Riley to think that Lucas may return to his old ways because of her. And maybe she figured that he liked her too, but she never did anything about it. She liked things the way they were.

"But I don't like him," she finally said, trying to ignore the heat radiating from her face. She had just started to be comfortable around Charlie again. She thought they were past this. But she should have known he didn't just want to say hi earlier.

"Yeah well, just figured you should know," Yindra shrugged.

There was an orange flash of crackling light as Yogi disappeared and reappeared on a branch at the top of the oak tree. "I think I see them coming!" he called out to the rest below, staring down the hill.

"Yeah, they are," Zay said as they turned to face the cluster of trees at the bottom of the hill. "I can hear them talking. It doesn't sound very good."

"Oh no," Riley groaned. "I hope Billy wasn't right."

Maya, Lucas and Charlie emerged from the trees, walking up to their classmates. Riley couldn't help but smile at how cool they all looked in their tourney attire. Especially Lucas.

"Where's Darby?" Sarah asked, confused. Yogi reappeared on the ground with another flash of orange light.

"Here," Charlie said, pointing to his shoulder. They caught sight of a miniature Darby leaping to the ground. She grew back to normal size, clearly upset.

"How did tryouts go?" Riley asked anxiously.

"Darby didn't make it," Charlie said. Darby punched him in the shoulder. "I was just getting it over with for you!" Charlie whined.

"I'm so sorry, Darby," Riley said sympathetically as Sarah and Yogi got up to hug the girl. Darby sighed. "I'm not even that upset. What upset me was that dumb Billy Ross. And all his other goons."

"Yeah, they were a bunch of jerks, looking all smug and know-it-all," Charlie added.

Riley frowned and shook her head. "That boy is gonna get it someday. Karma's gonna get him," Yindra said confidently.

"On the bright side, your beloved made it onto the team," Lucas said with a wide smile, turning to Riley.

"Oh Huckleberry, you shouldn't talk about yourself like that," Maya drawled. Lucas scoffed. "I was talking about you, but okay, if that's the way you wanna go."

"You made it onto the team?!" Riley exclaimed. Maya nodded, grinning. Riley leapt up and squeezed her best friend. "I knew you could do it!"

"You should have seen her Riles," Lucas said with amazement. "She was fantastic."

"Yeah, I barely made it," Charlie said. "She got through immediately."

"You should have seen the look on Billy's face!" Darby chirped excitedly, her satisfaction wiping her sadness away. "His mouth dropped so far it was practically touching the ground. She played perfectly!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Riley squealed, and Farkle, Smackle and Zay got up to wrap Maya in a hug.

"You guys are choking me," Maya squeaked. "But keep doing it. I love it."

"Of course nobody cares about good ol' Ranger Rick."

Riley grinned, pulling away from Maya. She threw her arms around Lucas, earning a grin from him.

"Fine, you whiny mope. Good job for making it onto the team," she laughed. He laughed into her hair and squeezed her back, before Riley pulled away with a slight grimace. "You're sweaty."

Lucas shrugged. "It's sports."

"Hopalong wasn't too bad either," Maya said from within the human sandwich engulfing her. "He was better than me, actually."

"Yeah, he was the first to be picked," Darby added. Riley beamed up at Lucas, and he gave her one of his award-winning smiles.

"Good job, you," she said softly. He didn't say anything, still smiling down at her.

And there it was again.

Riley noticed it more and more. How the look behind his eyes softened, swirled. It was when the muted blues and golds behind the green came out, dancing together before fading, only to swim back to the surface. It was almost like the barriers that hid what he felt crumbled.

How easy it was to get lost in his eyes.

"Y'know, I made it too," Charlie joked. Instantly the moment ended, and Lucas looked at the ground. Riley turned to Charlie. She stared at him for a moment, trying to ignore the earlier conversation.

"Congrats, Charlie," Riley said kindly, hugging him too. She felt him smile, and it made her kind of uncomfortable knowing she may be leading him on. But she made it clear that they would be friends. He had to understand that.

Lucas watched as Riley hugged Charlie. He didn't realise how much he had been smiling until it was instantly wiped off of his face. It still irked him. It irked him whenever Riley showed affection to any other guys who weren't Farkle or Zay. Rather, it irked him when she showed affection to Charlie Gardner.

Lucas wasn't stupid. He wouldn't get jealous if Riley was with other boys. She had this natural charisma. Lots of people found her friendliness infectious. Lucas knew when feelings were there, and for most cases he knew that he had nothing to worry about when it came to Riley and boys.

But this was Charlie Gardner. Lucas knew Charlie's feelings for Riley. And while Riley told him that she was just going to be friends, Lucas knew that Charlie hadn't been able to let go as easily. He could tell.

Why did he even care so much? It wasn't as though Lucas and Riley were together either. In fact, neither had expressed interest in the other. They were just really close friends.

That was what Lucas told himself constantly, to stop himself from saying and doing something dumb. He knew that Riley treasured their friendship, and so did he. They wouldn't risk it. And yet he knew there was something more. He wouldn't have been able to see that look in Charlie's eyes, if he didn't have it in his own.

He often wondered if Riley felt the same way. Sometimes he swore he caught traces of that look in her own eyes, but it would fade quickly, and with Riley and her constant happiness and doe-eyed innocence, it was hard to differentiate that look in her eyes from, well, Riley just being Riley.

And here she was, congratulating Charlie Gardner with a simple form of affection, Riley just being Riley.

Lucas felt the surge of irritation rising up, and he struggled to keep it pressed away. He didn't want to go back to how he was. It still happened sometimes, but a complete breakdown would break Riley's heart. He didn't want that. He didn't want all those years of change to go to waste.

He and Riley were just friends. Close friends.

He was in denial. He knew his own feelings.

It was probably why he felt a wave of relief when Riley finally pulled away. He knew that she didn't like Charlie. But it still bothered him sometimes, when he would catch a glint of that something more behind Charlie's eyes.

Lucas turned to Maya, congratulating her and starting a fresh wave of banter. He pushed all his thoughts on Riley to the back of his mind.

* * *

"So then I did this front flip and the disk flew right under me, and I landed out of the Kill Zone!" Maya grinned proudly, leaning back into the soft pillows at Riley's bay window. "I saw that Lucas had the ball, so we kinda signaled to each other and I ran straight for the goal post while he was distracting the Whinstle players. And then he hurled it to me and _bam!_ Goal!"

Riley cheered as Zay gave Lucas a fistbump. "That sounds great! I still can't get over you making it onto the team," Riley gushed happily. They were in Riley's room, with Lucas and Zay sprawled on the carpet. Smackle and Farkle had left early to work on their project.

Lucas and Maya had just hit the showers. Riley had to admit that Lucas did look very good with his tousled brown hair.

And once again, Riley cursed herself for having such thoughts. _Screw these teenage hormones_.

"Yeah, all those days practicing really paid off," Maya said contentedly. She smirked. "Billy's face was gold. Absolutely priceless. I wish I could capture that moment."

"I actually think we may have a chance this year." Lucas smiled. "Melba is always losing. We haven't won a game in years. But with Maya we just might make it."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're the star player Huckleberry. Not me." Maya pulled her legs up and crossed them. "Your side flips were awesome. And your maneuvering was great."

"I love it when you're nice to me. Keep doing it," Lucas smirked. Maya threw a pillow at him.

"No matter what, I'm sure both of you will be the pride and joy of Melba's Alpha team," Riley concluded joyfully. "Two of my favourite people making me proud."

"Hey!" Zay gasped with indignance.

"Okay, fine. You're all my favourite people."

"That's much better."

"I rise above you all," Maya snorted, throwing an arm around Riley's shoulders and using the other to wave the guys off dismissively.

"Guys, let's not fight over who my favourite person is," Riley laughed.

Maya gasped in offense and pulled back. "How dare you denounce our friendship like that. So much for ring power."

Riley gave her a look. "I would never denounce our friendship. Not now and not ever. Ring power!" she exclaimed boldly, pointing her finger to the ceiling.

"Ring power!" Maya's finger shot up to join Riley's.

"Thunder! Lightning!" Lucas chorused with them mockingly, rolling his eyes. Riley and Maya did this too many times. The girls threw him an annoyed look.

"Thor!" Zay yelled. Everyone turned to look at him. He shrugged. "Thor is the god of thunder and lightning."

"That may be so, but I can run at lightning speed," Maya joked.

"Show off," Lucas scoffed.

"Oh man up Huckleberry."

"Did you see my uncle?" Riley asked. Maya visibly froze, and there was a momentary pause.

"Yeah, he was there. We played against him," Lucas said. "I talked to him after the game."

"Oh? What did he say?" Riley turned to Maya pointedly.

"He said Maya played well-"

"Sorry Luke, but I'm asking Maya," Riley said apologetically. Lucas blinked, but his face softened and he nodded with understanding. She turned to the silent blonde. "What did he say to you?"

Maya's gaze dropped to the ground. She cleared her throat. "I didn't talk to him."

"Why not?" Riley was determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Yeah, why didn't you Maya?" Lucas asked curiously. Zay eyed the scene unfolding.

"It's none of your business Ranger Rick," Maya snapped. "I just didn't want to. I wanted to… meet our classmates as soon as possible."

There was a silence, because nobody really quite knew what to say. They all knew it wasn't true, but they didn't know how to prove otherwise.

"Okay…" Lucas began, but Riley locked eyes with his, and silently signalled him not to talk about it anymore. She would deal with this again later.

The awkward tension grew. "So Charlie still likes you huh Riley?" Zay blurted out in an attempt to get rid of it. Riley's eyes snapped to him and widened. He cursed under his breath at his stupid mistake.

"What?" There was no missing the tone in Lucas' voice. That tone of bewilderment, and harshness.

"Yeah, Yinda said that Charlie still likes her," Zay continued, his voice filled with guilt. Oh well, there was no going back now.

"Really?" Maya was thankful for the distraction, her face stretching into an amused smile. Riley groaned inwardly. "I thought Cheese Souflé was over you."

"Apparently not," Zay shrugged.

"So? It doesn't mean anything. Things will just be awkward and I'll have to spend my days being awkward with him in the hopes that he doesn't see my discomfort," Riley huffed.

"To be fair Riles, he never said he didn't like you anymore," Maya pointed out, clearly enjoying this. "You just said the two of you should just be friends, and he agreed, but he never said he didn't like you even though you did."

"Yes, Maya, I know," Riley deadpanned. Her best friend knew the effects of this on Lucas' behaviour. But Maya wouldn't pass up the chance to poke fun at something.

"I thought he agreed to just being friends!" Lucas suddenly sputtered. "Why doesn't he understand that you don't like him back? I thought he understood! He shouldn't be making a move!"

There was a brief pause at his outburst. "Relax Ranger Rick, I don't think Charlie has made a move," Maya said cautiously, finally getting serious about it. "He just told them that he still likes Riley. That's all."

"Yeah Luke, don't worry about it," Riley said gently, hoping he would calm down. She saw him clenching his fists slightly, and while his jaw wasn't as tight as it usually would be, it still worried her.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Maya suddenly asked, eyeing Lucas with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing! I just don't want him to make Riley uncomfortable!" Lucas retorted defensively.

"Lucas is right, it's nothing! I don't like Charlie anyway," Riley quickly cut in, flustered. "Can we not talk about it?"

For a brief moment Lucas' eyes burned, green eyes glowing with passion and aggression. But it quickly faded, like embers burning out. "Yeah. Sure."

Just then, the dinner bell rang through the building. _Saved by the bell,_ Riley thought with relief. _Literally._

"Let's go get some food!" Maya cheered. "It's steak night. And I love steak night."

"Well, we better get going then! Don't want Maya to get angry or something bad will happen!" Zay said, getting up. Maya narrowed her eyes at him as they headed for the door.

"How do you know? I don't have issues, you know."

Zay had a growing smile on his face. "Because…" he began, and Riley already knew it was going to be bad. "The _steaks_ are high."

Immediately, Zay and Maya were gone and zipping down the corridor. "I told you the next time you told such a horrible joke I would kill you!" Riley heard Maya holler. "And I'm dead serious."

Riley burst out laughing at Maya's unintentional pun. Lucas laughed too, and Riley hoped that he was back to a good mood.

"C'mon Luke, we need to keep our best friends away from each other," Riley giggled. She grabbed her hoodie jacket and slipped it on, walking to the door.

Lucas chuckled and followed, stepping out of the room. Riley lingered back to make sure everything was in order, before flipping the light switch and the room went dark.

She stepped out and turned to shut the door.

"Riles."

She turned at the sound of his voice. It was soft, longing, and anxious. So quiet she may not have heard it if the corridor wasn't deadly silent.

Lucas gazed down at her. She never did get over how he had grown to tower over her.

The look was back. His back to the corridor lamps, dark and deep shadows outlined Lucas' face. His eyes gleamed.

She tilted her head slightly, exploring the depths of his eyes again while waiting for him to speak. It was simple moments like these that made Riley love Lucas more than usual. Moments when he let his walls down. She reminded herself how lucky she was to have him in her life.

"How… how do you feel?" Lucas suddenly mumbled. "About Charlie liking you?"

Riley smiled, chuckling softly. "Luke, I don't feel anything for him, okay? Please stop worrying. I don't want you to worry about me," she said affectionately.

"I know, but… I still want to know how you feel," Lucas said.

"Well, I feel bad that he's still chasing after someone he can't have," Riley responded simply, honestly. "Charlie deserves better than me. A guy like him should find someone who can love him back with a whole heart."

Lucas' lips tilted up in a small smile. "There couldn't be anyone better than you, Riley Matthews," he murmured. "Charlie is right to fall for you."

Riley was stunned, needless to say. Lucas had never said such a thing. Her mind raced with all the implications and hidden meanings behind his words, the reasons for why he would say such a thing, and the possibilities that maybe she had been hoping for all this time.

And her heart was pounding in her chest. Why? Why was it pounding? Why did it race when Lucas said something that made her feel good?

Riley smiled back, praying that she didn't just let him see through her eyes and into her soul. "Thank you, Luke. But he's not the one for me," she said. She paused, looking into his eyes. "I… am waiting for another person to come along."

Lucas didn't break his gaze. God, they were standing so close to each other, their faces way too close to each other. At least, closer than people who were just friends should be. So many impulsive and rash thoughts crossed his mind, but they were washed away by his sensibility.

"I hope you find that person soon, Riley," he said genuinely. And with that he pressed all his feelings away again, lingering on the hope that maybe he would be that person. He stepped back, and the moment was over.

Riley was disappointed, to say in the least. And she didn't like it very much. She didn't like how she always seemed to long for something more from him. How she felt like something in her needed to be satisfied. Like she was impossibly close, but not close enough. Like something was missing.

She hated this feeling of emptiness. And then it occurred to her that maybe the past five years of affection towards him wasn't simply platonic. Or maybe it was, but not anymore. Maybe her feelings were something more, and maybe that look she always seemed to catch in his eyes was something more.

Could it be? Was it true? Was the constant happiness and warmth she felt around him leading her to something else? As Lucas gestured for her to walk with him, she grinned, covering up anything her face could betray.

And it was as the two were walking side-by-side down the same carpeted hallway they had met in five years ago, that it struck Riley.

Maybe, just maybe, she was in love with Lucas Friar.

* * *

 **It has begun! Seems like Riley and Lucas are realising something. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)**

 **Let me just add that you will see a lot of Lucaya banter because I absolutely love platonic Lucaya. I don't ship them romantically, and I see them more as brother and sister. I really miss their season 1 banter and I hate how they seem to be more awkward around each other (IMO). I much preferred when they could poke fun at each other with ease, without this love triangle tension. And of course, with romantic Lucaya, Rucas can't happen. Oh well, we'll see where the show takes us.**

 **Till next time!**

 **-malenburke**


	5. Chapter 4: Shadows

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:** _ **Shadows**_

"Okay everyone, get to work on your powers! I don't care how you do it, just make sure you reach your next goal by the end of this month," Mr Fabray instructed to the 9th Year class. They spread out all over the room, some working alone and some working in groups or pairs.

"Mr Babineaux, don't think that just because you can hear everything it means you've completed your training," Mr Fabray warned as he walked over to Zay, who was resting against one of the intricately-carved walls.

"With all due respect, Marky, I'm not very sure what to do," Zay said casually.

"That's Mr Fabray to you," the teacher said sternly. "And it's Mark." He was a rather tall man with a slim build, dark brown hair and a deep voice that commanded authority. "Where is your goal checklist?"

"I lost it, sir."

Mr Fabray let out a frustrated sigh. "Mr Babineaux, this is the fourth time this year. The next time you lose it, I will put you under special training." Zay's eyes widened. Extra training meant extra classes after school.

"Your next goal is to listen for sounds undetected by the average human ear," Mr Fabray read from his clipboard. "High-pitched noises, for example. Insects humming, animals communicating."

"The only animals here are my classmates."

"Zay!" Smackle scolded.

"I'm kidding!" Zay raised his hands in surrender. Mr Fabray narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't make me lose my patience, Zay. Get to work. Stick your head out a window. Listen to the animals outside. Something."

Meanwhile, Riley was working with Lucas. Mr Fabray figured that it would be best, since Lucas' power was deemed rather dangerous and Riley could help him heal anything.

"Okay, I need to learn to heal major wounds like deep lacerations and burn wounds," Riley read from her checklist. She frowned. "That sounds scary. And hard. And how am I supposed to get someone to stab themselves or something?"

"I could burn myself for you," Lucas offered jokingly. She gave him a look.

The two had not forgotten the incident from the previous night. But if either of them were deeply affected by it, they were doing a great job of hiding it.

"Lucas, I am not letting you hurt yourself so I can advance in my training," Rliey deadpanned.

"Well, I need to burn something to advance in my training," Lucas mused. Riley shook her head, smiling.

"No Luke, you need to learn to control the amount of heat in high temperatures. There's a difference." She gestured to the metal sheets Mr Fabray had given him. "He wants you to transfer heat to these plates and maintain the temperature below nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit."

"How about you?" Lucas questioned. "How are you going to train?"

Riley sighed. "Not sure. Let me ask him. It's not like he has a spare human who is willing to be subjected to torture or anything right."

Lucas chuckled as Riley walked off to Mr Fabray. He turned to the metal sheets.

Training always made him nervous, even if he didn't show it. The chances of him hurting someone was rather high, with his thermal radiation abilities and all. He hated how Mr Fabray made him work with Riley. He didn't want her to be his unfortunate victims, whether or not she could heal.

Plus, Riley hadn't mastered how to heal anything worse than second degree burns. Training always held such risks, not just for them but for the rest of their classmates too. Lucas just posed even more of a threat than the rest.

He took a deep breath, placing his hands on the metal sheet. Because of his ability, Lucas very rarely got burnt. Even when he should, his body was unaffected by high temperatures. He could place his hands on a stove if he wanted to. His own hands could heat things up by themselves.

He felt the energy transferring to his hands, tingling in his fingers until it broke free of his constraints, flowing freely from his palms. The red heat glowed from his hands, and he pressed them onto the metal sheet.

The temperature in the screen at the corner of the sheet rose quickly. Lucas had long gotten past controlling temperatures at about five hundred degrees.

He watched carefully as it passed the two hundred mark. Three hundred. Four hundred. Five hundred. Six hundred.

Now Lucas had to concentrate. Steadying his breathing, he felt his jaw tighten with concentration. He felt the energy thicken, like hot molten lava pumping in his veins.

The thermometer reached seven hundred, barreling straight for eight hundred. Lucas grit his teeth, struggling to slow it. He did too much, and it shot down to six hundred again, the heat dying from his hands.

A fresh wave of energy rippled through his hands, and it rose to eight hundred fifty. Sixty. Seventy. Eighty. Ninety.

Nine hundred. Lucas steadied himself, focusing on his breathing and the warm numbness in his palms. The numbers rose and dropped shakily, darting between the eight hundred and nine hundred range.

Suddenly he felt something snap, and the temperature shot up to one thousand. Lucas' heart rate sped up, and he felt the hold he had on the energy slipping and spiralling out of control. It rushed freely through his fingers in waves of heat.

One thousand and a hundred. One thousand two hundred. One thousand three hundred. One thousand four hundred.

Lucas felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple. His jaw tightened as he struggled to pull away.

"Luke?" Riley was back.

"Riley!" Lucas gasped. "I-I can't remove my hands!"

His arms were going numb, spreading with dull warmth. His hands did not cooperate, refusing to separate themselves from the now glowing metal sheet.

Panic rose up. He was out of control, and he couldn't feel his arms.

"Lucas, don't panic again. Calm down. Your heat is getting too strong," Riley spoke steadily, though Lucas heard the panic seeping through her voice too.

Lucas took a deep breath, wincing as the temperature shto up to one thousand six hundred. Steadying his breathing, Lucas closed his eyes and listened to his heart pounding in his ears.

"Alright, good, good…" Riley's gentle voice reached him through the darkness. Gradually, he felt the energy flowing back, trickling through his veins.

"Okay, I'm going to remove your hands now." Lucas' breath hitched, but he forced himself to focus on his breathing.

He felt Riley's soft hands clutch his wrists, and his hands were lifted from the metal sheet.

"Okay, open your eyes," Riley said slowly, letting go of his wrists. Lucas opened his eyes to see Riley's kind brown ones gazing at him.

"Oh thank you Riles-" He moved to hug her.

"Luke not yet-" His hand came into contact with her arm in an attempt to pull her closer, and she shrieked.

His gaze snapped down, and to his horror his hands wee still glowing red.

He pulled back immediately. Riley winced. There was a bad burn on her arm. Red, raw, and ugly. And it was because of him.

"Riley- Oh my god-"

"It's okay Luke," Riley choked out, calming herself. A pale yellow glowed from the burn, and Riley hissed at the searing pain. She took several deep breaths.

"Riles!" Maya ran over with Farkle, Smackle and Zay. "Riles, oh my god, what happened?" Maya turned to Lucas, glaring at him.

"Huckleberry! You idiot-"

"Maya, it's okay," Riley cut in, struggling to get through the pain. "It's not his fault. Now's not the time." Maya glanced at Lucas, who was tensed up. She nodded slowly, turning to Riley.

Riley inhaled slowly. The raw skin slowly healed, turning dull red, and then the red faded. Riley's face relaxed as the pain subsided. The skin wrinkled slightly, and the yellow disappeared. Riley carefully peeled the dead skin away and tossed it to the side, and it was as though nothing had happened. It still stung a bit, but she was fine.

"Riles, I'm so sorry," Lucas apologised guiltily. Riley smiled. "It's okay. I can heal myself, remember? Plus, now I know I can heal burns!" she said cheerfully. Riley and her optimism. Riley turned to the rest.

"It's okay guys, don't mind me. Go back to your training."

"Be careful next time Riley," Smackle warned gently. "Just because you can heal doesn't mean you should get hurt all the time."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Riley said simply, smiling widely. The rest smiled and went back to their spots.

"Huckleberry, please be careful," Maya said to Lucas. He was staring at the wall. "Don't get yourself hurt too." With that she turned away, practicing on adopting people's abilities when she morphed into them.

Riley grinned down at her arm. "Isn't this great? Now I can work on helping others heal their burns!" She looked up at Lucas, and her smile faltered a bit at the upset look on his face. She recognised it. He was angry at himself.

"Lucas." Riley said softly, moving to take his hand.

He flinched away, his eyes fixed on the hard stone floor. "No. I don't want to hurt you."

"Your hands aren't glowing anymore." She took one hand swiftly, and he tensed up. She gently rubbed his knuckles.

"Luke, I'm fine. Please don't freak out about this."

"I could have seriously hurt you, Riley," he said through gritted teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists. "I did seriously hurt you. I shouldn't have done that. I should have been more careful." He glared at the ground, fury and self-blame swirling in his eyes. "Why can't I control it well until now? I should have known better by now! And I should have known not to touch you without making sure my hands weren't glowing anymore."

"We all make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up over it." Riley squeezed his hand, gently rubbing her thumb across his knuckles until he relaxed slightly.

"Hey." Riley's other hand reached up to cup his cheek. She turned his head gently. He obliged, but his green eyes still stared holes into the ground.

"Look at me."

Slowly, Lucas lifted his eyes up. As his eyes met Riley's, she smiled warmly. "It's okay. Everything is okay." He gazed into her soft brown eyes, and the anger faded from his own. He felt the tension seep away through his fingertips, and he relaxed. Riley's calming effect did wonders for him.

"I'm sorry," he said wearily.

"Don't be," she replied. "It's not your fault."

Her hand lingered on his cheek, and she gave his hand one last squeeze, before she dropped her hands. Her warm touch left him feeling tingly, like every inch of his skin was on fire.

Her brown eyes never left his, making sure he was alright. After a few moments, she smiled softly. "Let's get back to work."

From nearby, Maya watched the exchange between Riley and Lucas. She couldn't help but smile. She had seen this for a while now, how their deep connection was growing into something else.

She hadn't been too sure about it, but her suspicions were slowly being confirmed. She smiled wider. It was time to do something about it.

* * *

"So what it can do is absorb energy from other people! I got the idea from the incident with Lucas earlier," Farkle explained excitedly. Riley smiled with amusement as she pulled her books out of her locker for their next lesson.

Farkle and Riley were locker neighbours. Matthews then Minkus. Josh's locker was on her left. Maya and Lucas were at another section, since they were Friar and Hart. They weren't too far off though, considering how the entire school population was only about a hundred and fifty people. Each class only had about twelve people, anyway.

It was no surprise, really. After all, how many superhuman children could you find in the entire country? Riley had initially been surprised there were more than a hundred at all. Not to mention all the other superhumans who had graduated and the many more to come.

"So you invented that in the span of twenty minutes?" Riley asked incredulously, slamming her locker shut.

"What do you take me for? An idiot? I made this in ten minutes!" Farkle said, giving her an offended look.

"Right, because making advanced technological devices in ten minutes is totally normal, Farkle."

"Yeah, and healing a burn wound in twenty seconds is totally normal, Riley."

"Point proven."

"Hey losers!" Maya strolled up to them, with Lucas and close behind her. Smackle came up to join them. "Guess what, I managed to morph into Sarah _and_ move objects with my brain like her!" She grinned. "This is going to be so useful. I could be anyone! I could do anything!"

"Oh no, she's going to be ruthlessly unstoppable," Lucas groaned. "We can't give her this much power. Look at what happened to Hitler."

Maya smirked. "There's a new dictator in town Farkle!" she declared loudly, giving Farkle a devilish smile. Riley and Smackle exchanged amused smiles.

"Meh, my old dictator days are far behind," Farkle muttered as he shrugged. "I welcome you willingly, my new protégé."

Maya waved him off. "Nah. Not cut out for dictator. Too much work. The only people I'll be killing will be Ranger Rick, and Billy Ro-"

"Maya!"

Maya froze at the girly high-pitched voice, annoyance washing over her face. "Maybe her too," she muttered under her breath, before turning.

Missy Bradford and Billy Ross stood there, smiling at the gang of friends. With very fake smiles, as they all noted.

"Just wanted to congratulate you for getting onto the team," Missy said, a smile plastered onto her face. She was a tall, thin girl, a year older than they were, and Billy's classmate. The two often hung out a lot, so it was no surprise that they were both of Maya's least favourite people.

"Thanks, Missy," Maya said, an equally plastic smile playing at her lips.

"Oh, and you too Lucas," Missy said, turning to the green-eyed Texan. She batted her eyelashes, and Riley resisted the urge to vomit as her finger subconsciously twirled her hair.

"Thanks," Lucas said cautiously, smiling nervously.

"Yeah, good job Lucas," Billy said. Riley glanced at Smackle to see her reading their faces, her eyes narrowed slightly. "You played well," Billy continued, not even sparing Maya a second glance.

"Well, see you at the next practice!" WIth that, Billy and Missy walked off.

"He didn't even congratulate you," Riley said, frowning as she turned to Maya. Maya rolled her eyes.

"Not that I give a damn anyway. I'd rather ignore his existence like he did for mine."

"They were so horribly insincere," Smackle muttered as she shook her head. "And they don't really care that I can see it either."

"We can all see it, Smackle," Farkle pointed out.

"Yeah, but I can see that they came over to spite Maya, and even Lucas. I can also see that they are using their superiority complex to conceal their deep-rooted feelings of inferiority. And that they intend to eat roast beef for dinner tonight."

"Okay, show off."

"Says the one who wouldn't shut up about building an energy stealer in ten minutes."

"Point proven."

"Hey guys, you going for History?" Zay greeted as he walked over. They all laughed, before heading off for their next class.

* * *

Later on, they walked into English class, the last lesson of the day.

"Hi Ms Willows!" Riley chirped, giving a small wave to their young teacher. Ms Arla Willows looked up and smiled. She was the youngest teacher in the school, entering the same year that the 9th Years had at the age of twenty two. Now in her early thirties, she still looked the same after nine years.

She had a youthful face and gentle blue eyes, always smiling and kind. Her dark hair looked almost black, and her slim figure was almost always clad in simple, colourful dresses.

Ever since Riley came into the school, Ms Willows had been her favourite teacher. One reason was that Riley loved English, mostly reading and literature. Exploring themes and ideas that reflected human nature was something that always intrigued her. Her other favourite subject was History, courtesy of her father, but Mr Murray was never quite as pleasant as Ms Willows or Mr Matthews.

The other was that Ms Willows was the first person to greet Riley when she came in, and though Riley was terrified and wouldn't stop crying, Ms Willows managed to calm her down and assure her that everything would be okay.

Ms Willows checked up on Riley often for her first year, and even long after Riley had settled in comfortably, she and Ms Willows had a good relationship. They talked often, and Riley could count on her if she ever had doubts about herself.

Ms Willows could make plants and flowers grow, and she helped Riley control her healing powers more than Mr Fabray did. She taught Riley to heal flowers, and how to transfer her energy to others so that she could help them.

Ms Willows and Riley had a lot in common, and Riley saw her as her mother figure in the school, though she was really more like a big sister. She was Riley's guide since her parents couldn't be around, and she was thankful for it.

"Hello Riley," Ms Willows greeted cheerily.

"You ignored the rest of us, Ms Willows," Maya deadpanned. Ms Willows let out her tinkly laugh.

"Hello Maya." Before the rest could say anything, she added, "And Lucas, and Farkle, and Smackle and Zay."

Satisfied, the six took their seats. When their other classmates filled in, Ms Willows began her lesson.

" _The Giver_ , by Lois Lowry. A very popular novel in the world outside of JASPA," Ms Willows began, pacing back and forth in front of the class, the book in her hand.

"Can anyone tell me what this novel is about? Has anyone bothered to actually pick it up from the school library?" she asked. Immediately, everyone turned to Farkle and Smackle.

Farkle and Smackle exchanged a glance at each other, eyes narrowed.

"It's about a world where everyone is the same!" Farkle yelled as he stood up, slamming his hands on the table.

"No, it's about a world where everyone is _expected_ to be the same," Smackle corrected loudly, shooting to her feet as well.

"The society in the novel is trying to achieve 'sameness'. They discourage and even punish people if they try to be unique," Farkle added.

"Colours, memories, feelings. They're all forbidden," Smackle said. "Even love."

"Yes, thank you Farkle and Smackle," Ms Willows chuckled. Farkle turned to Smackle and gave her a smug grin.

"She said my name first."

"Get over yourself, you self-absorbed loony."

Riley and Maya exchanged grins as Farkle and Smackle sat down.

"Farkle and Smackle are right. In this world, people are discouraged from being different," Ms Willows told the class. "They are not allowed to be their own selves. Everything that makes them unique is taken from them."

"Why is that, Ms Willows?" Riley pipes up, frowning. Such a world sounded rather unpleasant.

"Well, because that way they can maintain peace," Ms Willows said simply. "If everyone is the same, there are no differences to fight about and no differences to fight for. No war, no conflict, no suffering. At least, that's what they felt."

"But their peace comes at a great cost, doesn't it?" Lucas brought up. "How is it worth it to lose their own identities just for peace?"

"It's just easier, Lucas," Ms Willows replied. She lifted the book up. "By eliminating anything that is different, they can have greater control over their lives and prevent disaster. But everything that happens, happens for a reason. War, as unpleasant as it is, teaches us a lot about human nature, and that there are consequences to violence. We must learn from our past mistakes and our history to progress. That's what the society in this book lacks."

"But if there's anything that this novel teaches us, it's that our individuality is not worth sacrificing. What makes the world beautiful is every unique person that exists on it. Every culture, every emotion, every memory. And all that is worth the pain and suffering we go through. We are all worth fighting for."

"So why do we have to be holed up in here then?" Maya suddenly asked. The twelve classmates exchanged glances with each other. "Why can't we be allowed to roam free? Why can't we be with our families? Why can't we live normal lives, like the people in TV shows and story books?"

Ms Willows was silent for a bit, considering her answer. Then she spoke.

"Well Maya, people are generally tolerant to each other's differences. It is what makes us all unique and makes our world interesting. But they are also afraid of what they don't understand," she said sympathetically. "The people outside of this school don't understand us. We are perceived as abnormal. Dangerous, even."

"But I thought individuality is supposed to be embraced!" Riley exclaimed. "If we're so special, why can't they accept us?"

"If they knew about us, they would be scared. Because we hold a significant advantage over all of them. We can do things that they cannot. And however harmless we may be, their fear will turn into defensiveness."

The class was silent as Ms Willows looked at all of them.

"They could hurt you, and do things to you to remove their fears. They would know that you can overpower them, and they would want to eliminate that threat. As human beings we naturally fear the unknown. If we don't know what it is, we wouldn't know how it would impact us and what could happen to us. That's what you are. That's what everyone here is. An unknown class of people, and hence a threat."

The 9th Years were deep in thought. How was it fair that they should not be accepted into society? It was not their fault that they were different. What happened to embracing individuality?

"Like I said, we are all very, very different from the average human beings. Humanity isn't quite ready to accept us for what we are yet," Ms Willows said, her voice tinged with sadness.

"Well, if the rest of the world won't accept us, I'm glad that I can be here with all of you," Riley said with a smile, turning to her classmates. Everyone smiled back at her and at each other.

They didn't belong anywhere but here. And maybe that was okay.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter. I personally liked the lesson on individuality :) It reflects some of my thoughts and I'm sure many of you share the same sentiments. This is a bit of a filler chapter, but the next chapter will be very exciting!**

 **I would like to thank all of you who read and reviewed so far. It really means a lot to me to see you enjoying the story. Especially those of you who are Lucaya shippers, for enjoying this despite shipping a different couple than me. I've always known that not all rival shippers have to be nasty towards each other and it's nice to see that I'm right. I also really appreciate all my fellow Rucas shippers! for shipping this beautiful pairing. Thank you for being you :)**

 **See you guys in the next chapter!**

 **\- malenburke**


	6. Chapter 5: Tackled

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

 **Warning: There is major swearing in this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:** _ **Tackled**_

Weeks later, the whole school of a hundred and fifty were gathered at the tourney field. Half wore the Whinstle colour of red, and the other half wore blue for Melba. Riley was outside the locker rooms, waiting for Maya and Lucas to emerge so she could wish them luck.

It was the second of the three major tourney games in the season. Whichever team won at least two out of three games would be declared champion for the year. So far, Melba had only won the title of Alpha champions twice in the history of the school.

Usually no one cared much because they knew Whinstle would win, but word had gone around about Maya being the first and only female to make it onto the Alpha teams, and her playing abilities. Needless to say, they were excited.

Whinstle won the first game of the year, but it had been a close fight and everyone was looking forward to seeing Melba play this time.

Because the tourney season games took place in the fall semester, the weather was rather chilly. The leaves were already beginning to fall off, and the school was brightly coloured with red, orange and brown leaves.

No one was really looking forward to the end of the tourney season, because that meant the fall semester exams. On the bright side, Christmas week came after those, and it was everyone's favourite part of the year.

Riley shifted in her pullover hoodie, her hands stuffed into the pockets to keep them warm. Farkle, Smackle and Zay had already gone to reserve good front row seats for the game. Not that there were many people to compete with anyway.

At that moment, Maya walked out, decked in her tourney gear and holding her tourney stick up. She wore a metal anklet, which disabled her powers. All the tourney players had to wear them during a game. It made the game a fair one. She grinned at the sight of her best friend.

"Hey peaches," Riley said happily. "Good luck out there. I know you're going to rock everyone's socks off!"

"Thanks Riles," Maya laughed nervously. "Even after so many years I'm still a bit anxious."

"You'll do great Maya," Riley said assuringly. "You're just nervous because you're the first girl to play on an Alpha team ever! But the last game was great. Melba almost won because of you!"

"No, Melba almost won because of Friar."

Riley's smile was wiped off her face as both girls turned to face Billy. He had just stepped out of the boys' locker room, a smirk on his face.

"Lucas is the star player. Not you."

"As long as it's not you, I don't care," Maya said with a shrug. Billy narrowed his eyes, before swaggering towards Maya. Maya stepped back slightly with shock.

"You better watch yourself, Hart," he said lowly, glaring down at her.

"Knock it off Billy," Riley said nervously as she moved to pull Maya back. He cast a glance at her, and she faltered under his hard stare. Maya turned to face Riley, gesturing for her to step back.

Turning, she stepped closer to Billy, getting into his face. "If you haven't already gotten the memo, you don't scare me, Billy Ross," she growled. "You never have, and you never will."

"You don't deserve to be here," he snarled.

"Why? Because I'm a girl? Because girls shouldn't be able to play?" Maya questioned. "Take your sexist little ass out of here. There's no room for you and your humongous ego."

Billy shoved Maya by the shoulders. She staggered back, eyes wide with fury. She started forward, ready to pounce, but Riley grabbed her arm just as Lucas stepped out.

Lucas' face hardened at the sight of Billy. "Leave her alone Billy."

"Man, I'm just letting her know you're our team's hero, not her," Billy insisted, turning to face Lucas.

"Nobody is this team's hero," Lucas disagreed. "And it wouldn't hurt to accept that Maya is a good player."

Billy narrowed his eyes, and gave Maya a threatening look.

"Keep your eyes open, Hart."

With that, he walked down the corridor and out to the field.

"You guys alright?" Lucas asked the girls. Maya pursed her lips.

"I'm going to prove that pathetic asshole wrong," she growled.

"Maya-" Riley whirled around as Maya stormed past her and out the exit. She turned back to see Lucas staring after Maya, concern written all over his face.

"Luke, please take care of her," Riley begged. Lucas' gaze shifted down to her. "Don't let anything happen to her on the field."

"Riles, Billy won't do anything-"

"You don't know that!" Riley insisted, her eyes gleaming desperately. "Please, just make sure she's safe. I don't like how Billy is acting and I'm worried he'll do something rash. Even at the expense of the team's victory."

Lucas drew his lips into a hard line. He nodded with understanding. "Okay. I won't let anything happen to her."

Riley sighed with relief and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him lightly. "Thank you, Luke."

"Y'know, she's my friend too," Lucas joked, hugging her back. As they pulled apart, Riley smiled up at him.

"I know, but she's _my_ best friend," she said, before grinning. "Now go get 'em."

Lucas grinned back, and the two exchanged one last glance before Lucas headed to the exit leading to the field, and Riley headed to the other end towards the Melba bleachers.

As she emerged into the cool air, she ran straight into her uncle.

"Riley!" Josh looked flustered, and extremely anxious.

"Hey Josh, what's wrong-"

"Have you seen Maya?" he cut in urgently. Riley frowned. "Yeah, she just went to join the rest of the team. Why?"

"I had a vision," he said, his words rushing out. "Something bad is going to happen if we don't stop it."

Riley's eyes widened. As she opened her mouth to speak, the commentator's voice rang out over the speaker. Riley recognised it as Ronald Turnwall, a 12th Year Whinstle student.

" _May all Alpha players please proceed to the field. The game will begin shortly. All other students are to be seated in their respective stands._ "

"I have to go warn her Riles," Josh said, before dashing past her and out the other exit. Riley whirled around and stared after her uncle, her worries deepening.

She found Farkle, Smackle and Zay near the front, sitting behind a couple of 11th Years, and took her seat beside Smackle. Farkle and Zay were making bets on who would score the winning goal, Maya or Lucas.

"We got some popcorn," Smackle said cheerfully, pointing towards the popcorn. Her smile faltered at Riley's anxious face. "What's wrong?"

"Josh said something is going to happen," Riley told her. "I think it has to do with Maya."

They both turned to look at the teams, who were choosing the six players and one shooter. Four were to take offense, equipped with their sticks and a glove. Two were to take defense, brandishing a stick and a shield. The shooter had to shoot the rubber disks at opponent players in the Killzone. Each team always had ten players, with three reserves.

They sat up straighter as they noticed Josh making his way to Maya.

"C'mon peaches, listen to him," Riley murmured desperately under her breath.

She watched with dismay as Josh didn't get past more than a few words before Maya said something monotonously, and turned to join the rest of the Melba team. Josh shouted Maya's name, but the referee – Mr Fabray – signalled for the players to take their places.

" _And our Alpha teams are making their way onto the field. Twelve players, two shooters, one aim: winning. This is sure to be an exciting game, after the first game ended with such a close score._ "

The cheers around them were deafening as the Whinstle and Melba players walked out onto the grassy field, waving to their supporters. The Whinstle stands were on the opposite end of the field, facing the Melba supporters.

"He's gonna go after her," Smackle murmured. Sure enough, Josh scrambled after Maya and pulled her arm. She whirled around to face him, her face filled with annoyance.

"She looks annoyed, but secretly she feels… happy?" Smackle said, squinting at Maya's face. Riley frowned slightly. "Because he's actually chasing after her?"

"Maybe."

They watched as Maya said something to Josh, her face contorting into anger. Josh opened his mouth to speak, but Maya turned on her heel and Josh was tugged away by a team mate. The players shoved their helmets on.

"Oh no," Riley groaned. Josh was looking at Maya desperately, but Mr Fabray was poised to begin the game. The Melba team lowered their sticks together before screaming, 'Melba!' and pointing their sticks towards the Whinstle players.

Maya and Lucas were both playing offense. Riley caught sight of Billy, who played defense and was brandishing a blue shield.

" _And the game begins…_ "

Mr Fabray's shrill whistle rang through the air.

" _Now!_ "

The crowd erupted into cheers as the launching hole in the middle of the Killzone shot the ball into the air. Lucas and a Whinstle offense player ran towards each other, sticks raised high before the Whinstle player shot it to his team mates.

" _Whinstle is in possession of the ball!_ "

The Whinstle side was screaming with excitement, and everyone watched as the players took off towards the Whinstle goal post, tossing the ball to each other.

Usually Riley would cheer with delight as Lucas stole the ball, tossing it to Maya. But she was too busy eyeing Maya and Billy carefully. She flinched as Billy tackled a Whinstle member, a bit too close to Maya.

" _And Maya Hart is in possession of the ball! The very first female Alpha player, and the only one so far. She sure has some skills!_ "

She joined in the cheering as Maya dashed across the field, bouncing the ball into the air with her stick and dodging the Whinstle defense players. Her breath hitched as she reached the Killzone.

 _Zoom!_ A disk soared over Maya's head and she ducked, dropping the ball. Another came at her and she did a front flip, to the excitement of the Melba crowd. Scooping the small ball back up, she ducked as another disk flew over her head before she dashed out of the Killzone.

" _Maya Hart is out of the Killzone!_ " Once again, everyone erupted into cheers and screams, Riley included. Lucas did several side flips and rolls as he got through the Killzone. Maya tossed it to another player, before colliding with a Whinstle player trying to block her. It took Riley several seconds to realise it was Josh.

To everyone's delight, Maya did not fall. She pushed back with sheer strength, before the Josh staggered back and Maya dodged past him. Riley frowned. From the looks of it, Josh had been trying to tell Maya something.

" _Austin Smith is in possession of the ball. He tosses it to Lucas! Billy Ross blocks a disk with his shield and he makes it out of the Killzone!_ "

Everyone was tingling with adrenaline as the ball made it closer and closer to the Melba goal post. Riley held her breath. Lucas dodged a Whinstle defense player, and she saw him yell Maya's name before tossing the ball to her.

Maya caught the ball and bounced it to the ground, before swinging her stick out and shooting it towards the goal.

" _Oh! So close! Maya Hart's ball is saved by Whinstle goalkeeper, Blake Scott!_ " The Melba fans let out disappointed cries, but Maya pursed her lips with determination and Riley smiled. Maya never gave up.

Riley turned her attention back to Billy. She squirmed uncomfortably. He was eyeing Maya with a bad look in his eye. The cheers of the Whinstle players alerted Riley. Whinstle was in possession of the ball, and was past approaching their goal post.

She winced as the Whinstle player was tackled by Billy, being knocked to the ground. But before Billy could scoop the ball up, Josh dashed by and tossed the ball to another offense player.

" _Joshua Matthews dashes to the goal post. He tosses it to Kenny Oben, and- He scores!_ "

The Whinstle supporters erupted into screams of happiness. Riley heard the Melba students sigh with disappointment around her.

"Don't worry guys!" Riley heard a 4th Year say to her friends behind her. "I believe in Maya Hart! She can do it."

Riley smiled. She believed in Maya Hart too.

"Go Maya! Go Lucas!" She joined Farkle, Smackle and Zay in cheering for their friends. Lucas turned slightly, his gaze landing on hers. Even through his helmet, Riley saw him smile.

Melba had the ball now. Riley watched with excitement as the ball traveled from one end of the field to the other, before Maya tossed to ball to Melba captain Miles Davis nearing the goal post. She inhaled sharply as Billy once again tackled a Whinstle player right behind Maya. Billy was just doing his job right? Somehow, Riley wasn't sure.

" _Miles Davis tosses the ball to Lucas Friar, who receives it! Will he? Can he?- He scores!_ " Riley burst into wild shrieks of excitement with everyone else, her heart soaring with happiness for Lucas. It was one of the quickest scores she had ever seen.

Two more scores by both teams later, Riley was getting more and more anxious. Not because Melba and Whinstle were tied, but because Billy was getting strangely aggressive, especially around Maya. She could see Lucas sticking close to Billy, and Josh eyeing him from afar. They were worried too.

" _My, that was fast! Melba and Whinstle are now tied two to two. With three minutes left into the game, which team will claim victory for the day?_ "

Mr Fabray's whistle went off, and Whinstle started with the ball. Riley's heart raced as Maya intercepted the ball, and tossed it to Lucas.

She gasped when Lucas was tackled by a Whinstle player she recognised as Kenny Oben. He crashed to the floor, and the ball was stolen by Kenny. Both sides of the field were now exploding with cheers. It was the final round, the one that would decide the winning team.

Riley's heart was pounding in her ears. Billy tackled Kenny to the ground, and Miles scooped the ball up before tossing it to Lucas, who had gotten back up.

Lucas had just made it past the Killzone with several flips and ducks when he was tackled by Josh. Riley was glad it was her uncle. Otherwise she would have been annoyed at whoever tackled Lucas.

" _The ball is in Whinstle's possessio- Now it's back to Melba as Austin Smith takes the ball! Ooh, back to Whinstle as Austin is tackled by Wyatt Parker!_ "

The tension was extremely high. Everyone was getting tackled, and Riley could tell that both teams were desperate to win. The rest of the school was going wild, and by now all were on their feet.

Riley kept her eyes on her best friend, who was playing hard. She saw Brendon Pond tackle Wyatt Parker, and Maya swooped in to steal the ball. Everyone was screaming as she bounced the ball into the air with her stick, before doing an impressive side flip in the Killzone and tossing the ball to Miles. Miles dashed to the goal post, before he was tackled by Josh.

Fortunately, Lucas took the ball before Whinstle could. He dodged past Kenny Oben, and passed the ball to Maya. They were nearing the goal post.

Adrenaline was pumping through everyone's veins. Her friends were screaming next to her, but Riley kept her eyes on Billy. Her heart sped up. He was running with his shield up towards Maya, who was reaching the goal. There was no Whinstle player behind her, only one nearby to her right.

Suddenly Riley realised what he was going to do, and Josh must have realised it too. He was now yelling at Maya, but the blonde girl was too caught up in making it to the goal to notice.

Riley's stomach dropped as Billy made it closer to Maya. He was barrelling towards her at breakneck speed. By now she was screaming her lungs out for Maya to notice.

Maya dodged past another Whinstle player, and so did Billy. Riley knew her worst fears were true. Billy would have tackled the player.

Maya slowed in front of the goal post, bouncing the ball and swinging her stick back to shoot.

" _Maya!_ " Riley screamed as Billy charged towards her unsuspecting best friend.

And then suddenly Lucas was in front of Billy. Just as Maya scored the winning ball, Lucas took Billy's shield to the face, stumbled over his feet and crashed to the ground behind Maya.

" _And Maya Hart scores! Melba wins!_ "

The Melba fans erupted into screams of ecstasy, but Riley was squeezing her way out of the stands.

" _It is Melba's first win in nearly fifteen years! What an extraordinary moment in history!_ "

Riley made it out of the stands, ignoring the teachers yells as she squeezed past them and onto the field. The grass was soft under her feet, and she struggled not to stumble as she sprinted to Lucas, all her screams and cries lodged in her throat.

Lucas was lying on the field. His helmet had flown off, and Riley could see that his face was twisted with excruciating pain. Maya didn't care that she had just scored the winning goal. She had tossed her stick and helmet to the ground, and fell to her knees next to him, shrieking angrily for medical attention.

Billy stood a distance away, stunned. His blue shield lay on the ground. The other players were too busy hugging or cursing to the sky to notice.

"Luke! Lucas!"

Riley's head was spinning when she came to a halt and collapsed to the ground next to Lucas. He was breathing heavily, gasping in huge amounts of air.

"Luke! Luke, oh my god!" Riley quickly scanned over his body frantically, noting the horrible way his foot was twisted. He had a deep cut above his left eyebrow, bleeding from the impact of the inside of his helmet and Billy's shield.

"Can somebody get the fricking nurse!" Maya was screaming, whirling her head around. By now the school was realising what was happening. There were curious shouts and hushed murmuring fro both sides of the field, but most people were still celebrating or ranting about Melba's victory. Josh dashed over, his face filled with concern.

"Why the hell did you do that?! There was no one to tackle!" Riley heard Miles Davis shouting at Billy, who made no reply.

"Luke. Luke, breathe," Riley stammered, cupping his face with one hand and placing the other on his chest. He gasped, heaving for breath.

She heard Farkle, Smackle and Zay rush up behind her.

Impulsively, Riley scrambled over and carefully wrapped her hand around his ankle. Lucas flinched, giving out a small gasp of pain. Zay grabbed his hand, and Lucas squeezed tight.

"I know Lucas, just bear with me!"

Riley felt the energy flow through her hands. She had never healed broken bones before. But she healed a burn. Who was to say she couldn't try?

The yellow glow sank into his ankle, and Lucas cried out. Riley heard a few sickening cracks, but Lucas' ankle slowly shifted under her hands.

He was in pain. He was in so much pain. It wrenched her heart to hear his cries. But Riley couldn't stop now.

She felt the energy rushing, zipping, coursing through her veins. It crashed through her wave after wave, pulsing in and all around her as she channeled it to his ankle.

Lucas gave one last cry of agony before his ankle popped back into place, and there was a fresh wave of yellow energy as the swelling decreased. Riley released her hands, and his foot was good as new.

Lucas was heaving and panting, his chest rising and falling as he lay on the grass.

Riley moved back up, taking his face in her trembling hands. "Luke, are you alright?"

He nodded, still catching his breath, but giving her a small grateful smile. "I did a good job… of protecting her, huh?" he choked out shakily. Riley smiled.

"Yes Luke, you did. Thank you."

"Well it's about time!" Maya yelled angrily as the emergency first aid team finally rushed up to Lucas. "This girl just single-handedly fixed it."

Riley held Lucas' hand as the staff carefully lifted him onto a stretcher. She felt him give her one last squeeze, before they parted and they took him away.

"Go with him," she told Farkle, Smackle and Zay. "Make sure he's okay. I'll deal with this."

"Are you sure?" Farkle said cautiously. Riley nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. With that, the three rushed after Lucas.

Riley whirled around at the sound of Maya's angry screams. She would worry about Lucas later.

"Why the _fuck_ did you do that?!" Maya shoved Billy furiously, and he staggered back. Riley had never seen her so angry. "Why the hell did you have to try and attack me! You think I don't know Ross? You think I don't know that you tried to tackle me?! What the fucking hell is wrong with you!"

Billy was speechless as Maya screamed in his face.

"Hart!" Miles warned. Maya turned on him.

"He tried to put me out of action! He tried to hurt me! And look what happened! My friend is lying on a stretcher after he protected me."

"I know," Miles said firmly. "But you need to calm down. Lucas will be fine. I will deal with Billy later."

Maya fumed silently, breathing heavily. Riley gently put her arm around Maya, the other hand squeezing her shoulder. "It's alright, peaches. There's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Maya exclaimed incredulously. "This asshole just tried to put me out of action!"

"What is going on here?" Mr Fabray demanded as he jogged up to them. Miles and Josh turned to him.

"Billy Ross tackled Lucas," Josh said calmly. "Lucas is injured. Or he was. Riley healed his twisted ankle," Josh added, gesturing to his niece. She gave Mr Fabray a small smile.

Mr Fabray nodded slowly. "Ross, Davis, come with me," he ordered. "The rest of you, go hit the showers." The other players who had gathered around nodded silently, before turning and walking to the locker rooms.

By now the rest of the students had been cleared off of the field by the other teachers, and they were back in the main school building. The field was empty except for Riley, Maya and the other players who were making their way off of the field.

Billy did not say a word, but he cast Maya a hateful glare before following Mr Fabray and Miles.

Maya gave him the finger as he walked off, absolutely livid.

"Maya, you need to calm down. It will be okay," Riley said slowly, taking her friend by the shoulders. Maya let out a frustrated huff. "Fine," she grumbled.

"You should have listened to me!" Josh sighed. Maya turned to him with a glare.

"What are you talking about?"

"I tried to tell you-"

"We were about to start the game!"

"Goddamn it Maya, this only happened because you wouldn't listen to me!" Josh suddenly yelled. There was a stunned silence. Riley stood frozen on the spot, unsure of what to do. Maya was just as speechless.

"For the past few weeks, months even, you have been avoiding me," Josh began, his voice shaking. "You've hardly said a word to me since the summer and since school started. What did I do? Every time I try to talk to you, you just clam up and walk off!"

Maya was silently staring at him with shock at his outburst.

"What happened to you freaking out every time I came by?" Riley watched the hurt wash over her uncle's face. "I know I always said I was too old for you, and you stopped eventually, but I never expected this. I still want to be in your life, Maya. I care about you too."

Riley knew it went beyond that. She had always known. And now she was watching it all fall apart.

"And now, because you didn't listen to me, Lucas is in the infirmary," Josh said wearily.

"Are you telling me this is my fault?" Maya snapped.

"I don't know! Maybe it is!" Josh retorted. "I was trying to tell you that I had a vision about this game. That Billy would try to hurt you. But you wouldn't listen. You're lucky that Lucas took the blow for you! You could have been seriously hurt!"

Riley couldn't help but think back to when Lucas said that to her.

Sadness seeped into her heart as she silently watched her uncle deflate with defeat.

"If you want me to stay out of your life forever, then so be it," he murmured. Maya was gazing at him, and Riley knew she had no idea what to say.

"I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry if I ever did anything to you," Josh continued, shifting on the spot. "I'll leave you alone from now on, if that's what you want. But it won't stop me from trying to protect you, or my niece, or any of you if I need to."

With that, Josh turned and walked away.

Riley slowly looked at her best friend. She saw the despair and hurt in her eyes, and her face was filled with guilt.

"Peaches?"

Maya's eyes snapped to her. Her face hardened like cement, and her blue eyes grew dull and bitter. She wordlessly picked up her helmet and her stick, and slowly trudged to the locker rooms.

Riley stared after her, sighing. The field was silent, the wind blowing gently as she watched her best friend and uncle walking away slowly, both slumped with defeat.

* * *

 **Wow, I'm on a roll. I know I said wouldn't update very frequently but I have a lot of time on my hands and I'm really getting into this story ahaha. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it. It was very exciting.**

 **And oh no, Joshaya :(**

 **Daziy is SoniQ: I actually had another plan in mind for Farkle, but that is even better! Thank you so much for the suggestion. Don't worry, his 'genius' powers were never meant to be permanent :)**

 **Thanks to everyone for reviewing!**

 **-malenburke**


	7. Chapter 6: Barriers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:** _ **Barriers**_

Riley navigated the corridors, a tray with a bowl of soup in her hands. Maya was still in the locker rooms. Riley knew that her best friend just needed time to think about the drama that had unfolded, so she gave her some space.

She finally found the big wooden doors to the infirmary. As she was wondering how she would get them open while holding the bowl of soup, they were pulled open by Zay, with Smackle and Farkle behind him. They each gave her a small smile.

"He's all patched up," Zay told her.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Farkle added. "You should go and talk to him. He really wants to see you." Riley smiled softly. Lucas wanted to see her, huh?

"Where's Maya?" Smackle asked, eyes searching for the feisty blonde. Riley cleared her throat nervously. "She's uh, freshening up."

Smackle nodded. Riley didn't have to look at her to know that Smackle detected her awkwardness.

"Well, you're only half-lying, so I won't ask," Smackle said. Farkle and Zay glanced at each other, before the three stepped past Riley.

"We're going for lunch now," Farkle said to Riley. "Saturday is Soup Day! I love me some soup."

"Your English is absolutely splendid, Farkle," Smackle commented casually, smoothing her quilted skirt. Farkle gave her an annoyed glare as Zay and Riley grinned.

"Seems like you already beat us to the soup," Zay mused, looking down at the bowl of soup.

"It's for him," Riley said, before stepping into the infirmary. Zay nodded and shrugged.

"I knew that."

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let us get some delectable soup for our consumption," Farkle said, starting down the corridor.

"Oh, so now your English is impeccable?" Smackle teased as she and Zay followed after Farkle. Riley laughed as the door swung shut and her friends' voices disappeared down the hallway. She turned.

Lucas lay in one of the beds at the end of the room. He had turned his head and was smiling at her.

Riley rushed over to his side, her footsteps echoing through the empty room. She scanned him over worriedly.

The cut above his eye was gone and he had been cleaned up. He was wearing clean clothes. He gave her a tired smile.

"Hey," he croaked out.

"Hi," Riley answered softly, placing the soup down on the bedstand. She pulled a chair up next to his bed and sat down. Her face washed over with anxiety, before she gently took his hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded with a weak smile, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Thank you. For saving Maya." Riley reached up and gently swept his hair back. Lucas smiled as her fingers brushed his forehead, and shrugged. "It was nothing."

"Twisting an ankle isn't nothing, Luke."

"Well, now it is since you healed it anyway." He smiled. "Thank _you_ for sparing me the agony."

Riley grinned. "It was nothing."

"He has to avoid strenuous physical activity for at least three days." Mrs Reed, the school nurse, emerged from the infirmary medicine room. She was a little old lady, and the only other healer in the school other than Riley.

"Mr Gibson just had him cleaned up," she told Riley with a warm smile. "I further healed the ankle and it's fine now, but I would still advise some rest from tourney for a few days. Of course, it could have been much worse if you hadn't healed it so quickly."

Riley blushed as Mrs Reed gave her an adoring smile. "You really need to consider working here after you graduate, Riley. You have a gift."

"Thank you, Mrs Reed. But I'm not very sure yet," Riley responded honestly. "We'll see when the time comes."

"That's perfectly fine. You have a while to think about it," Mrs Reed waved her off. "I'll leave you kids to it. Do remember to have your lunch. It's already two o'clock."

She paused at the soup on the bedstand. "Oh, are you sharing the soup?"

Riley laughed. "No, Mrs Reed. It's for Lucas."

Mrs Reed chuckled. "Alright then." She headed back into the medicine room, and shut the door behind her.

Riley turned back to Lucas. He was glancing at the bowl of soup with an amused smile. "You brought the soup for me?"

"Did you think I brought it in here to eat it for myself?"

Lucas leaned over to look into the bowl of soup. He smiled. "Mushroom soup. My favourite."

"Of course!" Riley exclaimed. She gave him a look. "Luke, you're seriously underestimating me if you think I wouldn't know what you're favourite soup is."

Riley glanced at the soup, before a small smile appeared on her face and she took the bowl. She dipped the spoon in.

She carefully scooped some soup out, before swooping it to Lucas' mouth. "Brrrrtttt, here comes the airplane!"

"Riles, I can feed myself," Lucas whined, inching away from the spoon. "I'm not a baby. And I twisted my ankle, not my arms."

"Aw, c'mon Luke," Riley teased. "If I can't do this with Auggie, may as well do it with you."

"I'm not your test subject. This is stupid," Lucas laughed. Riley scoffed. "You're stupid!" She pouted, giving him her best puppy eyes.

"Pleaaase?"

"Riles, don't do that. You know I can't take your puppy eyes," Lucas groaned, shielding his eyes with his arm. When she didn't reply, he peeked over his arm.

She was still giving him the puppy eyes. Her big brown eyes pleaded imploringly with him, her lips turned down in a small pout. If it were even possible, her eyes grew bigger as she inched her way closer to his face. She looked so, so sad. And heart-meltingly adorable.

Lucas huffed. "Fine."

"Yaaayyy!" There it was. Riley's goofy cheer.

Lucas eyed the spoon warily as Riley swerved it through the air. "Brrrrtttt, brrp brrp!" He broke into a laugh as a drop of soup dripped onto the starched white sheets.

"Mrs Reed is gonna kill you, Riley."

"No she won't. She loves me." Lucas laughed again, until the spoon was shoved into his mouth mid-laugh. He swallowed it down, glaring at Riley with the spoon handle sticking out of his mouth. She was giggling uncontrollably.

Before Lucas could remove the spoon, Riley took the handle. He slowly let her remove it, and she scooped more soup. "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" she gushed, as though she was talking to a child. Lucas rolled his eyes.

Riley brought another scoop to his lips. He stared it for a while, before reluctantly accepting it. Riley smiled. "Good child."

"I'm fifteen years old."

"Still a child."

Fifteen minutes later, the bowl of soup was empty, and Lucas was smiling with amusement at how satisfied Riley was.

"You have just satisfied my life-long dream," she sighed contentedly.

"Of what, feeding people soup?"

"No, of taking care of someone." Lucas smiled.

"Riles, you have always taken care of all of us."

"This is different," she said. "It feels nice."

There was a momentary silence as they both looked at each other. By now Lucas' face had softened into a thoughtful gaze, and she stared back at him. Both were wondering if the nice feeling was because of something else.

"You should get some lunch," Lucas finally said. She couldn't quite identify the tone in his voice. It was a mix of care and longing. If only Smackle were here.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you here alone," Riley said hesitantly. Lucas smiled.

"I'm not going to let you starve. Besides, it's Saturday. You can visit me later. I should be allowed to go back to my dorm tonight."

Riley reluctantly got up, taking the empty bowl of soup with her. "Alright, if you say so. I'll come back after lunch. You need need me to get anything for you?"

"You don't have to worry about me, Riley," he assured her. "I'll be fine."

Riley smiled down at him. "See you later, Friar."

He flashed her a grin. "Bye, Matthews."

He watched as she walked to the door, longing for her to stay with him a bit longer. But he knew she was hungry. Lunch period was long over by now, and everyone else was probably wandering the grounds. Or talking about what had happened earlier.

It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. Wishing he could spend more time with her. It was just how she was, that light that drew people to her. He was sure it wasn't just him, but he always found himself feeling unnaturally empty when she was gone.

As the door swung shut, Lucas lay back against his pillow. He stared up at the worn ceiling of the infirmary. When his mind got tired of thinking and thinking and thinking, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Riley sighed. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the bay window, looking down at the gardens below. She had just gone to visit Lucas, but the moment she saw that he was asleep, she decided to go back to her dorm and let him rest.

Maya was still nowhere to be found. Perhaps Riley had crossed paths with her a few times, but Maya was a master of disguise. Knowing her best friend, Maya probably didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. So she was probably hiding behind the many different faces she could morph into.

Zay was working on his Chemistry assignment with Yindra. Farkle and Smackle had gone to the gardens. So here she was, alone in her room, wandering into the depths of her thoughts instead of doing her homework.

She smiled as she spotted Farkle and Smackle walking down the path through the neatly trimmed hedges. When they disappeared into the shady cluster of trees that led to the big oak, Riley turned back to her own thoughts.

She didn't know what it was. She felt unnaturally gloomy. Riley usually wasn't gloomy; her friends and everyone in the school knew that. But today, after the tourney game and perhaps after the past couple of weeks, Riley felt rather hollow.

It wasn't the first time she felt this way. It was just rare. There were moments where she would think of her family back home in New York, the life that she was missing out on, the life that would be added to her collection of memories so that she could pretend she knew exactly what had happened with her family over the past eight years. It would be just like she was never gone. But Riley knew that she would never really live that life, no matter how many fake memories they added to her head. It was those times that left her feeling empty.

But this was different. She had never felt empty for any other reason besides family.

Maya had been ignoring Josh for three months. It was gradual, but noticeable. And now they had fallen apart. What kind of hurt Riley most of all was that Maya had never once talked to her about it. It was a minor thing, perhaps, but Riley always thought that Maya would confide in her. She understood when her best friend needed space, but three months was a long time.

If there was one thing Riley hated, it was not knowing what was going on in Maya's head. They had always told each other everything. And yet here they were, a barrier forming between the two of them, and Riley didn't know how to get around it.

And now she didn't know what to do about Maya and Josh. She figured she should just give it some time, but she was worried. What if things never got back to the way it was?

And then there was the fact that Lucas was in the infirmary. Riley knew he was fine, but she couldn't help but worry about him. It was a habit she possessed ever since they met five years ago. He was tough, but Riley always felt that he had to be protected.

Lucas seemed calm and strong, but Riley knew that one wrong incident could send him spiralling back to his days of uncontrollable rage and hopelessness. She didn't want that for him. And that meant that Riley was constantly worrying that anything that happened to Lucas would be detrimental.

She was being silly. Lucas was fine. She had seen it in the infirmary. He was not angry for now, and he was not in any serious danger. Lucas had come a long way, but she always worried about him.

Her mind drifted to her other thoughts regarding Lucas. She knew that part of this empty feeling she had in her heart was her potentially romantic feelings towards him. For the past five years, they had been friends. Riley always felt that there was something special about them, but innocently passed it off as the spark of true friendship.

She knew now that it was not that. There had always been feelings between them. On her part, at least. She had always adored Lucas. For his strength in character, his unwavering resilience, and his care and compassion. Of course, he was also incredibly good-looking.

And now that she knew what those feelings were, she couldn't help but feel that a wall was sprouting up between them. These weren't the sort of things that they could just talk about. She couldn't just come up to him and lightly say, "Hey, I really like you, but I mean that's just today's news."

It was a rather serious thing. And Riley knew that things would get awkward quickly, and she didn't want that with him. She wasn't even sure if he liked her back, though sometimes she was sure that he did. But neither had ever said anything about it, and that was the way things were for now. They were avoiding the topic like a plague, even though it was inevitable.

Riley could hope that her feelings would just fade and she could go back to being comfortable and open with him. But she didn't want that. The prospect of being something more with Lucas scared her, yes. But it was also very exciting, and made her heart soar to heights she couldn't imagine. Being with the boy that she cared so much about, felt so strongly about. It was a thrilling idea.

And so Riley concluded that the reason she felt empty, was because of the barriers rising. The barrier rising between her and Maya, the barrier rising between Maya and Josh, and the barrier rising between her and Lucas. It made her feel trapped.

Her thoughts were brutally smashed away when someone knocked firmly on her door. She turned her head, staring at the mahogany wood. Maya, Farkle and Smackle never knocked. They knew that Riley had the habit of undressing and dressing in her bathroom. Walking in on her half-naked was never a problem.

Zay and Lucas knocked. For Zay, he felt it was impolite to just barge into her room, which always puzzled the rest of them, because Zay was never known to have the best manners. But politeness was the excuse he gave, so they accepted it.

For Lucas, it was because as part of his growing into a gentleman, he always made it a habit to knock. But his knock was softer, and Riley would recognise it anywhere. And he always opened the door a second after knocking, so when the door remained shut, and the firm and strong knocks repeated once more, Riley knew that the person at the door was not a regular visitor of hers.

She got up and slowly opened the door. She blinked in surprise. "Charlie."

"Hi Riley," Charlie said warmly. "Was I interrupting anything?"

"No, no, not at all!" Riley waved him off. Charlie smiled.

"That's good. What are you doing now?"

Riley felt her suspicions bubbling. On the surface, she gave him a small smile and shrugged. "Nothing much. I was just about to start on homework."

Charlie's smile grew wider. "Oh, well, I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the library? So we could do homework together."

Riley was surprised. Then again, she shouldn't have been. Her brain automatically searched for an excuse. She hadn't been alone with Charlie since they dated the previous year. Upon realising that all of her friends were currently occupied, she sighed inwardly.

Pulling her lips into a smile, she answered, "Sure!"

Charlie beamed. "Great! I'll, uh, go get my stuff!" He turned on his heel, and retreated into his dorm room.

Riley ran a hand through her hair. Perhaps spending some time with Charlie would distract her from her thoughts.

* * *

Lucas didn't know what time it was when he had begun to wake up. Through the darkness of his half-asleep state, he heard the door to the infirmary open. He could feel reality slowly drifting back to him, but he kept his eyes shut, allowing the heaviness of his slumber and the numbness of his limbs to remain.

When he heard someone sit in the chair that Riley had left, he figured that now would be the good time to wake up. Slowly shifting his head to face the side, he opened his eyes.

Maya had her face close to his, a smirk plastered onto her face. She laughed and pulled back as he scoffed.

"Good morning, Sundance."

Lucas pulled himself up into a sitting position, staring at Maya through sleepy eyes. "It's morning?"

"Nah, it's actually almost dinner time. Decided to pop by and visit you."

"How rare, Maya Hart actually cares about me."

"You're one of my good friends, Sundance. I'm not that heartless." Maya rolled her eyes. There was a pause. "Thanks. For having my back. For getting hurt to protect me."

Lucas shrugged. "Just doing my job."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "Since when is it your job to protect me?"

"It's my job to protect my friends."

"You mean it's your job to do what Riley says."

Lucas blinked, caught off guard. Maya smiled smugly. "I'm not an idiot, Huckleberry. I know she asked you to look out for me. She would do anything for me. And you would do anything for her."

"I would not…" Lucas trailed off unconvincingly. Maya laughed. "Friar the Liar. Face it, you're a sucker for that girl." Her face suddenly transitioned into a subtle glare. "You better not steal her from me. She's _my_ best friend."

Lucas chuckled, trying to cover up the fact that his heart was racing. "What are you talking about? I'm not gonna steal her from anyone."

"You're saying that now. Wait till stuff happens and you realise that I'm right," Maya retorted. "Seriously though, when are you going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Lucas asked nervously, feigning confusion. Maya rolled her eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me, Huckleberry. I know you like her."

"Everyone likes Riley," Lucas said casually. He was gonna play dumb for as long as he could.

Maya glared at him. "You know what I mean. You like like her."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Maya shot up to her feet, and got in his face. "You have a crush on her, you moron. You have feelings for her. You care about her. You want to be something more with her-"

"How do you know?!" Lucas snapped defensively, pushing her back to her chair with one hand. Maya smirked. "You're so obvious. Don't you think Smackle would have picked up on this by now? Actually, I haven't asked her. I don't need to. I can see it for myself."

"So is this why you came to visit me? To interrogate me about Riley?" Lucas asked wearily. He avoided her gaze, staring at the bed opposite his.

"Look, all I'm saying is, do something about it." Maya stood up. "Thanks, again. If not for you it would have been me in that bed."

Lucas shook his head, thankful for the change in topic. "Don't worry about it. We're friends. You should know by now that I do anything to protect my friends."

Maya smiled. Just then, Mrs Reed popped her head out of the medicine room.

"Hello Maya," she greeted the blonde kindly, before turning to Lucas. "Lucas, you may return to your dorm room now. You should be fine."

Lucas nodded with a smile and swung his legs out of his bed. His eyes drifted to the bedstand, and he frowned slightly at the sweatshirt and the pair of jeans folded neatly on top. He looked at Maya, who was smiling at the clothes knowingly.

"Did you bring those?" It was a stupid question. He already knew that Maya wouldn't bring them in for him. She didn't even know where he kept all of his clothes.

Maya shook her head, still grinning knowingly. "I'm pretty sure Riley brought them. She must have gone through your closet to get them for you."

Lucas narrowed his eyes as Maya wiggled her eyebrows. "You make it sound like a weird thing to do."

"Hey, don't blame me if I find it weird that she happens to know where you keep your stuff. Won't she like, come across your underwear or something."

Lucas whacked her with a pillow as she burst into laughter. "I keep my underwear separate, thank you very much," Lucas retorted, and Maya laughed louder. "She knows that. It's not the first time she got clothes for me."

" _Right_ , there was that one time you-"

" _Maya_ , we do not speak of the incident!" Lucas talked loudly over her, hitting her with the pillow repeatedly. Maya screamed with laughter.

"The time you-"

"Maya!"

"Oh please, it's not like Zay stealing your clothes from the locker room was such a big deal!"

" _Maya_!"

By now Maya had collapsed onto the bed next to Lucas', dying with laughter as Lucas sat there looking mortified. Lucas hated remembering the incident. Zay had taken his clothes as a prank, and after nearly fifteen minutes of contemplating his options, Lucas was just about to step out in only his towel when he had heard quick footsteps stop outside his cubicle door. Before he knew it, a clean shirt and a pair of khakis had been flung over the door.

When he stepped out he found Riley waiting outside the male locker rooms, looking rather petrified. She had run back to the dorms and into the locker room just for him, and Lucas had never felt more sorry. Obviously she had said it was okay, but for a thirteen-year-old girl to head into a male locker room was rather traumatising. Riley never really saw anything too damaging to her innocence, but there had been other guys in there.

Lucas had gotten back at Zay for that, but the embarrassment of the incident remained with both him and Riley till that day.

"Seriously though, she must have discovered so many things while searching through your dorm to get clothes for you," Maya exclaimed breathlessly, trying to calm herself down.

Lucas sighed defeatedly and grabbed the clothes. He disappeared into the bathroom of the infirmary, trying his hardest to push the memory to the back of his head.

When he came out Maya had sobered up, sitting up on the bed next to his. She grinned and stood up. After Lucas thanked Mrs Reed, the two headed out of the infirmary and for the dorms together.

"You're not gonna give me a hard time about Riley later at dinner, will you?" Lucas groaned pleadingly. Maya smirked and shrugged. "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll morph into you and just tell her myself."

"You wouldn't!"

"Hey, I could!" Maya said. "But I won't, because I want you to stop being a wimp and do it yourself."

Lucas sighed, staring at the carpeted floor. He didn't even know if Riley liked him back. She might, but until he had solid proof he wasn't willing to do it just yet. "Maybe someday."

Maya turned to him and gave him an serious look. "You better."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm sorry this chapter took a while. I was busy with Christmas stuff. I was also struggling to write this chapter a bit. It's a bit of a filler. And I hate filler chapters :(** **Although this is probably the pace that I'll be uploading at once school reopens ahaha.**

 **I'm sorry if there are any mistakes! Hope you enjoyed it :)**

 **By the way, just thought you should know, I'm not from the United States!**

 **-malenburke**


	8. Chapter 7: Surface

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** _ **Surface**_

Riley drummed her fingers on the tabletop. Other than Zay, who sat across her, no one else was at the table. She was sure that Farkle and Smackle were still returning from their stroll in the gardens. Maya hadn't been in her dorm, and neither had Lucas.

"Where are they?" Zay muttered, turning to look at the entrance to the dining hall with her.

Riley stood up, giving a nervous smile. "Maybe I should go check on Lucas-"

"No no, Sugar," Zay cut in, standing up before pushing her back down onto the seat by her shoulders. "You've been checking up on him enough. Stop worryin' about him. He'll be fine."

Riley sighed. At that moment, she caught sight of Maya and Lucas at the entrance. She paused, a little shocked.

Maya had gone to see Lucas. Riley had been looking for her all day. Maya went to see Lucas first.

The two were joking and laughing as they made their way over to the table.

"Hey buddy, you alright?" Zay greeted Lucas cheerily, clapping him on the back as Lucas sat down next to Zay.

Riley kept her eyes on her best friend as she sat down next to her. Putting on a cheery face, Riley spoke to Maya.

"Hi Peaches. Are you feeling okay?"

Maya smiled at Riley. "Yeah. I am. Thanks Riles." She said no more as she turned to face Lucas.

Riley felt her smile waver a bit, before she turned to the table as well.

"Where are those two?" Zay complained. "Can we just get food without them?"

"No Zay, we have always agreed that we should wait for everyone before getting our dinner," Riley reminded him. Zay sighed.

"Here they are," Maya said. Everyone turned to watch as Farkle and Smackle walked into the dining hall, smiling and laughing with each other.

"Well, that is new," Zay murmured. Farkle and Smackle reached the table, still smiling.

"You guys seem to be in a good mood," Lucas said with amusement as Farkle sat down next to him. Smackle took her place next to Maya.

"Well, Farkle and I have spent a lovely afternoon in the gardens, talking about things we both like," Smackle told them brightly.

Maya raised her eyebrows. "You guys actually agree on something?"

"We are both intellectually gifted, Maya," Farkle told her. "It has always been more of a competition to see who is brighter, but today we just talked about our shared views on time travel."

"Okay, well that's a conversation I am not interested in hearing, so let's go get our food!" Maya declared, standing up.

"Hey, are you feeling better?" Riley asked Lucas as they fell in line. Lucas smiled.

"Yeah, I'm feeling great. Thanks for bringing the clothes in," he said. She smiled back, before turning back to the front.

"Mr Oben, do not cut the line!" Mrs Corlay's shrill shriek rang out as Kenny Oben dashed to the front of the line and snatched a tray of food in a blur.

"It's a good thing his speedster powers are disabled on the field," Maya said.

The friends collected their food as Mrs Corlay gave Kenny an earful about using his powers for his selfish needs.

As they returned to their table, Riley couldn't help but notice how Maya seemed to be disturbing Lucas more than usual. She kept on poking him, or exchanging these glances with him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

By the time they settled down at the table, Lucas was glaring at Maya. Riley glanced between the two of them. She briefly locked eyes with Maya, before Maya looked away.

"So," Riley began extra happily, "how was everyone's day?"

"Well I mean, Billy knocked the crap outta Lucas here," Zay started, jerking a thumb to the mentioned boy next to him as he poked at his chicken. Lucas rolled his eyes.

He cocked an eyebrow as Maya laughed. "I also happened to save your ass, thank you very much," he added pointedly at Maya.

He jerked slightly as Maya's foot shot out at him under the table, nailing him in the knee.

"Well, we already told you what happened for us," Smackle said, gesturing between her and Farkle.

"I spent like three hours in the café with Yindra," Zay grumbled. "Stupid assignments."

"Bet you got lots of food though," Lucas commented casually, before taking a bite of his food. There was a dull thud and he grunted, before lifting his eyes to glare at Maya.

"Yeah. I did," Zay continued, oblivious to the fact that Maya had just kicked Lucas under the table. Riley was unaware that Maya was silently gesturing to her.

"And you're still hungry now?" Maya questioned, moving on like nothing had happened. She eyed Zay as he shoved spoon after spoon of food into his mouth. "What a pig."

"Don't act as though you don't pig out too, Maya," Farkle said. Maya gave him a glare, but she smiled.

"I don't pig out as much as I used to. Gotta stay fit for tourney."

"How about you, Riley?" Smackle cut in, leaning over to look at the brunette. "What did you do today? Other than save Lucas from his injury, that is."

Riley smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear as she shifted in her seat. "Nothing much. Went to visit Lucas, had some lunch, went back to the dorm, did some homework in the library with Charlie, then came for din-"

"Wait, wait, backtrack," Maya cut in. "You went to the library with Charlie?"

Riley looked up at her friends, pausing. She quietly scanned over all of their faces. Lucas looked particularly interested.

"Yeah..." Riley said slowly. "Not that big of a deal, just did some homework, that's all."

"Was it a planned thing?" Maya questioned. Everyone's attention was now on Riley.

Riley shook her head, turning back to her food to avoid their gazes. "No, I was about to do my homework in my room when he came by and asked if we could do homework together."

"And you said yes?" Farkle asked incredulously. Lucas looked like the world had just ended.

"Well, all of you were occupied!" Riley insisted. "May as well spend some time with him. It's not like anything happened."

"Nothing happened?" Smackle repeated disbelievingly. Riley glanced at Lucas. His gaze had shifted to his food.

"Nothing. Just me and him, silently doing homework, nothing else," Riley said, turning back to her food.

When nobody replied, she looked up again. Farkle, Smackle, Maya and Zay were still staring at her. Lucas was eating his food.

"Guys, nothing happened!" Riley insisted, though she heard her voice waver. Maya raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really. Nothing happened."

Maya raised the other eyebrow at her.

"Okay, maybe he might have talked to me for a bit."

Everyone gave a collective sound of triumph. "See, Charlie Gardner cannot be alone with you and not do anything," Maya pointed out.

"Well it's not like he said anything awkward anyway," Riley said hastily.

"He said that you two should spend more time together and that it was nice being together with you," Smackle revealed casually, picking at her beans. Riley's mouth dropped open in horror.

"Smackle!"

"Or something along those lines," Smackle quickly added. "He may have even brought up something about how you two used to date."

"Okay, fine, he just said that it was nice hanging out with me and that even if we were just friends he would like to spend more time with me," Riley rushed out, trying to get it over with.

Lucas had not said anything. Riley could see his jaw getting tighter. It was times like this she got annoyed at the others. Did they not see that this particular topic really bothered Lucas?

"Guys, Charlie and I are just friends. He understands that too. He said so himself," Riley told her friends, though she was actually directing it to Lucas. "Stop making such a big deal out of it. Don't worry about it."

Zay suddenly yelped and jumped in his seat. They all turned to him with alarm. He groaned and hissed, clutching his leg. Lucas was staring at his best friend with astonishment.

"Sorry, wrong person," Maya said, grimacing. Lucas yelped as Maya swiftly kicked him.

Riley had already picked up on the exchange between the two. It made her wonder what they had been talking about before they came into the dining hall. What Maya had discussed with Lucas instead of her.

"Goddamn Maya, don't wear such pointy boots," Zay choked out.

"Are you guys okay?" Riley asked worriedly. Lucas flashed her an assuring smile, trying to remove the pained expression on his face as he rubbed his shin.

"We're fine. It's fine."

"Okay, moving on," Maya said loudly, "do you think you'll be ready by the next game, Huckleberry?"

Lucas stared at her warily. They both knew she talking about more than just tourney.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Mrs Reed said I can resume practice soon."

Maya nodded. "Awesome," she said dismissively, "but you will be able to… do things, by the next game, _right_?"

Riley looked from Maya to Lucas. Maya had a mischievous smile on her lips, while Lucas was giving her an annoyed glare.

"We'll see," he said, his voice strained. Maya gave a small chuckle.

"Does anyone know what happened to Billy?" Zay asked curiously, looking around the dining hall. Lucas deflated with relief at the subject change.

"Last I saw him, he was being dragged away by Mr Fabray," Maya said nonchalantly. Riley watched her best friend carefully. If Maya was upset about Josh, she was good at hiding it.

"Maybe he got a timeout," Farkle suggested. "Dinner got sent to the detention room or something."

"What a relief," Smackle said, and they all laughed.

"I hope you guys kick butt at the final game," Zay declared excitedly. His face fell. "It better be exciting, because I need the excitement to last me through Fall finals."

"Zay!" Maya scolded, tossing a bean at him. "Don't remind me! I would rather focus on tourney than studying."

"You have to study eventually, Maya," Riley pointed out.

Maya pouted. "But not for another three weeks, so can we please enjoy life before hell begins?"

Riley laughed.

They all finished up their last bits of food and got up as Mrs Corlay rang the bell. They would have three hours until curfew.

Riley felt her stomach sink as she caught sight of her uncle coming towards them. Lucas and Smackle had noticed it too, and they looked away to pretend they hadn't seen.

"Maya."

Riley saw Maya freeze up at the sound of his voice. She turned slightly and gave him a glance, before continuing towards the tray collection station.

Josh started forward, his hand reaching out. "Maya, I-"

"Who wants to go for a stroll in the gardens?" Maya said loudly, coldly. She swiftly avoided his grasp, obviously desperate to get out.

Before anyone could reply, she grabbed Farkle and Zay by the arms, yanking them out of the dining hall.

Lucas and Smackle glanced at Josh, understanding the situation. They followed after Maya.

Riley sighed, watching Maya pull the rest down the hallway. She turned to look at her uncle.

Josh was staring after Maya, the hurt evidence on his face. He sighed wearily, running a hand through his hair. He didn't even try to run after Maya, and as Riley followed after her friends, she looked at him one last time.

Josh gave her a sad smile, before turning on his heel and walking away.

* * *

"Man, it is getting pretty cold," Farkle commented as he shivered, pulling his jacket around himself.

"Yeah, it is," Riley said, her hands in her hoodie pockets. She walked alongside Lucas, and she smiled as she felt him squeeze closer to her.

The night was cool, with the fall season really beginning to set in. The leaves were scattered about as the wind blew, and the garden was dimly lit by lamps along the walkways.

There weren't many people around. Most of the students chose to go to JASPA Village after dinner. But for the group of friends, it was on cool nights after long days like these that the gardens gave them peace.

The students of JASPA were not allowed to wander beyond the Inner Garden after six. The gates leading to the sprawling fields, rolling hills and thicker forests were already closed, and the valley nestled amongst the mountains gave an eerie glow in the moonlight.

Thankfully, their favourite spot was within the Inner Garden. It was an old yew tree, nestled amongst the trees that lined the JASPA compound. It was at the east-most point of the gardens, and right behind it was the tall metal fence that lined the entire perimeter. Beyond that fence was territory that the students would never venture into, dark trees and rocky terrain that stretched on until it met the mountains.

It was one of the places where they could get as close to the outside world as possible. Most of the border fence was blocked away by thick trees and bushes. But this was the weak spot. The reminder that there was more beyond the academy.

They found their spot, their flashlights landing on the twisting sturdy branches of the yew tree.

"Aw yeah." Maya grinned as she pocketed her flashlight, allowing the others to give her light as she climbed up onto one of the branches. She sat down contentedly, sighing.

Zay climbed up to join her, and the rest sat down in the shadow of the tree.

What made this spot special was that they didn't really have to talk. They could just be six teenagers, deep in thought about their lives, or the lives they were missing out on.

Tonight, however, they were talking. It had been an eventful day.

"Hey buddy, how did you know Billy was going to try and hurt Maya?" Zay threw the question out for Lucas to answer. Lucas nudged Riley.

"Riley told me to watch out for her. No surprise really, since Maya is a pain in the ass to handle. Ow!"

He glared up at Maya after she has tossed a stick at his head.

"Billy was being scarier than usual," Riley said openly. "I didn't want Maya to get hurt. Besides, Josh-"

Riley caught herself before she could say anymore, but she knew Maya had already heard it. Clearing her throat, she continued like nothing had happened.

"Smackle and I knew he was going to try and hurt her. We were watching him the whole game."

"I'm surprised you kept your focus, considering how exciting the game was," Zay muttered. "Still can't believe I lost a bet to Farkle."

"I can't believe you even tried to bet against Farkle," Maya laughed, and they all joined in.

Farkle smiled smugly. "I told you, Maya would score the winning goal."

"I heard that Billy is suspended from the team for the rest of the year," Smackle said.

"So did I," Zay added, "quite literally. Billy was protesting and all."

"If he wasn't suspended I would've gone straight to Fabray and Davis, and beat them up with my tourney stick," Maya grumbled.

"Easy there Shortstack," Lucas muttered, and he glared up at Maya as she tossed a small berry from the tree at his head again.

"Well, everything turned out alright in the end," Riley said cheerfully. _Well, almost everything,_ she thought, Josh flashing through her mind.

They talked for another half hour, about the upcoming game, about Lucas' injury, about Billy, about fall finals, about training, about how weird life would be without their abilities.

When their group chatter fell into individual conversations and quiet talk, Riley found herself in a silence next to Lucas. Maya and Zay were having a lame joke competition, and Farkle and Smackle were back to their discussion on time travel.

Riley felt the wall between them beginning to rise. While they both tried to look as though it was another comfortable silence, it most definitely was not.

She wasn't quite sure of what to say to him. The topic of game and Billy had been squeezed dry, and Riley wasn't planning on talking about Charlie or Josh with the rest there.

Usually if they had nothing to talk about, they wouldn't talk. But right now Riley felt that urge to say something. Like she had to fix or clarify something. Clear the awkward tension.

A minute of silence passed. Did Lucas feel awkward too? Riley glanced at him. Yes, he did.

She always knew when he felt uncomfortable. It was one of the warning signs she picked up on right before his discomfort transitioned into anger. He no longer did that, and Riley was no Smackle, but years of analysing his facial expressions had led to Riley knowing how he was feeling.

There was no anger in the way he constantly pursed his lips and swallowed, his eyebrows creasing slightly as his green eyes stared fixedly at the tree in front of them. There was only nervousness.

When had this begun? Riley was sure it was the exchange in the hallway.

Giving up on trying to ease her discomfort, Riley smiled at nothing in particular to hide her thoughts and stood up. Lucas finally turned to look up at her in surprise.

"Maya, Zay, I'm gonna join you!" Riley called up, before gripping a tree branch and pulling herself up.

"Riley Matthews is actually climbing a tree!" Zay exclaimed with a false grandeur. Riley grit her teeth as she made it up to a sturdy branch near to Maya and Zay.

"I can climb a tree if I want to!" Riley huffed indignantly as she clumsily swung a leg over the branch.

The rest laughed and exchanged grins as Farkle rolled his eyes. "Riley, the last time you climbed a tree, you fell. And landed on me, if I may remind you."

"I was still young!"

"We were in 7th Year, Honey," Maya chuckled.

"That was two years ago," Riley said, before smiling with triumph as she settled awkwardly onto the branch, her legs swinging. "See? I can do it."

"Well I hate to ruin your moment, Champion, but it's nine. We should be getting back," Zay said, before sliding off of the branch and landing with a soft crunch. Maya followed after, before turning up to look at Riley's apprehensive face.

"What's wrong, Honey? I thought you could climb a tree."

"I said I could climb. I haven't settled the getting down part yet," Riley said with a nervous grin.

"Oh, I am not gonna be the victim this time!" Farkle inched away from the tree. Smackle stood next to him, and Lucas got up.

"C'mon Riles, just jump!" Maya encouraged. Riley threw her an astounded gape.

"From this height? Nuh uh."

"It's not even that high," Zay muttered.

"Of course it is! With improper landing she could break both legs!" Smackle said.

"Thanks for backing me up Smackle, but now I don't wanna move at all." Riley peered down nervously.

"Fine, Ranger Rick will catch you," Maya decided. Lucas widened his eyes at her. "What?"

"You heard me. Catch her," Maya said firmly. "And if you drop her I swear to God I will break your neck after she breaks hers."

"Maya!" Riley scolded, frowning. Maya rolled her eyes.

"Just hurry up and jump into Huckleberry's arms already. It's freezing out here!"

Riley turned to look down at Lucas, her cheeks heating up slightly. Why? Why was she getting embarrassed and why was her stomach doing flips at the thought of landing in his arms? Why, why, why. Stupid hormones.

Lucas blinked at her for a while, before shrugging and stretching his arms out. "C'mon Riles. I'll catch you."

Riley bit her lip. Oh well, she trusted Lucas with her life. She pushed herself off, dropping down before landing in his strong arms.

She felt her heartbeat rocket up to the sky as she tumbled into his warmth. Instinctively her arms wound around his shoulders and neck.

"Now, that wasn't so bad was it?" Maya cooed, biting back laughter at both of her friends' flustered faces.

Lucas laughed at Riley's terrified expression. His laughter wavered as they gazed at each other, before lowering her legs back down to the ground. Riley felt the fresh wave of awkwardness, happiness, and tingles wash over her.

Without missing a beat, she beamed up at him and into his bright eyes. "Thanks, Luke! You sure can make a catch."

He just grinned back, before they followed their friends back to the path.

As they walked through the silent gardens, Riley's mind was racing. That had been so exciting. She would do it again and again. The way he pulled her close to him, his hands pressed against her back and lifting her legs. How it only made her sure that he would never let her fall.

Or maybe that was just her emotions.

Her thoughts slowed back to normal as they reached the entrance of the dorm building. Josh had stopped in the middle of the foyer staircase, on his way to his room. He was staring at Maya, who stood still at the bottom of the staircase.

Riley rushed up beside her best friend. She could practically feel Maya frozen next to her. Their friends all slowed to a stop behind them, and there was silence as their echoing footsteps faded into silence.

Riley watched her uncle's face fill with longing, his gaze fixed on the feisty blonde next to her. It wasn't long before Maya clenched her jaw and began her march up the stairs.

"Maya-"

Maya brushed past Josh determinedly, and Josh was crestfallen. As the rest of them exchanged glances and followed, Josh stood there, staring at nothing.

Riley was the last to head up the stairs, and she stopped next to her uncle. He lifted his eyes up to her. She gave him a soft and sad smile, before squeezing his arm and following after her friends.

* * *

 **So school started two weeks ago and OMG I am so so so so busy. This is one of the busiest years for me, so I apologise if I take a long time to update! Anyway, YAY RUCAS. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :) because who knows when the next one will be ahaha.**

 **-malenburke**


	9. Chapter 8: Afar

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:** _ **Afar**_

Three weeks went by faster than anyone expected. The final tourney game was the next day, and fall finals were coming closer.

Many students had already begun studying, and worried for her best friend's grades, Riley dragged Maya into occasional study dates.

Today was one of those days. They were in Riley's room, with Riley sprawled on her bed and Maya lying against the bay window, a book slumped uselessly across her lap.

"This is boring."

"You've already said it ten times, Maya. I'm not letting you leave until you get past chapter six."

"But I can't take it," Maya whined, tossing the book onto the floor.

"Oh stop whining you lazy poop," Riley laughed, hurling an eraser at Maya.

Maya caught it deftly, pulling a face at Riley. "I can be a whiney lazy poop if I want to," she said defiantly, tossing the eraser onto the carpet next to the book.

"Not on my watch. I won't let you," Riley said as she grabbed a pillow and jumped off of the bed.

"You and what army?" Maya laughed, bracing herself with another pillow as Riley loomed over her with a grin.

"Me and the power of this fluffy pink pillow!"

Maya shrieked as Riley bashed her with the pillow, laughing and whacking her back.

"I order you to study!" Riley hollered.

"Honey, you can't order me to do anything!"

The girls laughed and screeched, before breathlessly collapsing next to each other at the bay window.

"Are you gonna study now?" Riley asked breathlessly.

"Nope," Maya replied, popping the 'p'.

"C'mon Maya, if you want life for be great for you once we get out, you have to do well."

Suddenly Maya's grin wavered, faded into a tight smile. She looked down at her hands, letting the smile drop completely.

Riley frowned at the change in Maya's expression. "You have to do well, Maya. I want you to get into a good college."

"What does it matter?" Maya murmured. "I'm not destined for greatness."

"Yes, you are," Riley said firmly. "You're going to get everything you want."

Maya's eyes dropped to the floor. She pulled her lips into a hard line. "Maybe not everything."

Riley furrowed her eyebrows in concern. Three weeks had gone by, and Maya had not opened up. The wall was rising. Riley wanted to knock it down.

"Maya, tell me something."

Maya turned to Riley, giving her a casual smile. "Yeah?"

"What's going on? Why are you acting strange?"

Maya shrugged. "Training didn't go so well today. I kept trying to teleport when I was morphing into Yogi, but it didnt work. It worked last time, but I don't why it's not anymore. I also tried using Sarah's telekinesis, but I couldn't. Sarah is sick, right? It's like while she's not there, I can't do it. It bugs me."

Not the answer Riley had been looking for, but an answer nonetheless. "It's probably just your powers acting up. We all have those moments."

"Maybe." Riley caught on to the lingering hesitance, like she wanted to say something more.

Riley kept silent, patiently waiting. Finally, after a moment of silence, Maya let out a deep sigh.

"I'm scared."

Riley's hand found its way into Maya's, grasping it comfortingly. "About what?"

"The future." Maya squeezed her hand, as though doing so may release some of her fear. She turned to look up at Riley.

"I can't see a future for me, Riles. There's nothing for me outside of JASPA. I'm just going to get bad grades, not get into college, and end up as a street bum," she said, her voice sad, desperate and resigned.

Riley shook her head. "Shut up. You're not going to end up that way. I won't let you."

"Nothing works out for me, Riles!" Maya exclaimed. "My grades, my powers, Josh-"

It was too late. Riley had heard it. There was a tense silence. And Riley knew it was time to knock the wall to shambles.

"Peaches," she murmured softly, taking both of Maya's hands into her own. "Why have you been avoiding him? And don't say we're not going to talk about it, because we will." Riley cut Maya off as she opened her mouth to stop her.

Maya's mouth snapped back shut, and she slumped down again.

"Now, it's been months. You're not the same around him. You're avoiding him, being cold towards him, distancing yourself from him! What's wrong?"

Maya shook her head. "I've realised some things, Riles. And it's best that we stay apart."

"Why?" Riley wanted answers. "You've always wanted to be with him, Maya. What's changed?"

Maya was silent, biting her lip. She exhaled. "I've finally understood why the age difference matters."

Riley blinked. "Wha-"

There was knock on her door. Lucas.

The door swung open to reveal Lucas and Charlie, clutching their gym bags. They both smiled and their eyes landed on Maya.

"Maya, practice begins soon. Let's go," Charlie said, gesturing over his shoulder. He paused for a moment before smiling warmly at Riley. "Hi Riley."

Polite as always, Riley smiled back. "Hi Charlie."

She chose to ignore Lucas' irritated expression. She didn't have to for much longer. His green eyes were now on her, his sweet smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Hi," he greeted her softly.

This time, her smile was genuine. "Hey."

He smiled widely, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He gazed at her for another second, before nodding towards Maya.

"Sorry if we interrupted anything, but we gotta go now Maya."

"Yeah, sure." Maya stood and gave Riley one last tight-lipped smile, before brushing past the boys.

Riley let a quiet sigh escape her lips as Maya left the room. With every day that Maya spent avoiding the topic, the more she was at risk at losing Josh.

Josh himself hadn't spoken to Maya since the incident at the foyer. He had only talked to Riley a few times, as talking to her meant a high chance of running into her best friend.

Riley reasoned that they just needed space and time, but three weeks was a long time.

"Hey, everything alright?"

She looked up at Lucas' concerned voice. He had stepped further into her room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Riley smiled as brightly as she could. "Yeah! Everything is fine."

Lucas cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly. He wasn't convinced. "You seemed to be having a pretty serious conversation with Maya."

She shook her head. "It's not your problem to worry about, Lucas."

He shrugged. "If it's a problem to you, then it's a problem to me."

Riley felt her heart flutter. She laughed breathily. "Thanks, Luke. But really, you don't have to worry."

"It's about Maya and Josh, isn't it?" Lucas asked. Riley nodded with a sad smile.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Lucas said sympathetically. "How long do you think it's gonna last?"

"I have no idea," Riley sighed, running a hand through her deep brown hair. "It's been going on for a long time now. And I don't think it will end anytime soon."

"Why is she staying away from him anyway?" Lucas wondered.

"If I knew, this would have been over by now."

Lucas gave her a comforting smile. "I'm sure this will clear up eventually. Besides, with you on the case, Maya can't keep it hidden for long."

"Thanks Luke," Riley mumbled with a soft smile. She glanced at the clock and stood up, making her way to him. "You better get going. Don't wanna be late for practice."

Lucas grinned as she opened the door for him. Riley looked up at him.

"Keep an eye out for her, okay?"

Lucas' face softened. "Always."

Riley smiled, and gave him a light squeeze. He hugged her back, and she smiled into his shirt. He smelled like fir trees and freshly washed towels.

"Let me just say that I'm not going to hug you later when you're sweaty and gross, so treasure the moment," Riley said with a light giggle as she tilted her head up to look at him. He gave her a small pout.

"So you only love me when I'm nice and clean. How hurtful."

"I love you all the time!" Riley exclaimed. "I just don't _hug_ you when you stink."

" _You_ stink!"

"I do?!" Riley gasped with horror as she pulled away immediately. Lucas laughed, though he was disappointed at the loss of contact. "I meant it figuratively, silly."

Riley sighed with relief, before flashing him a smile. "Okay, bye Maddog! Catch ya later." She began pushing him out the door, though she really wasn't strong enough to actually make him budge.

Lucas smiled with amusement as he made his way out. "Did you really just call me Maddog? That is so two years ago."

"I can call you whatever I want," Riley teased, leaning against the doorframe. Lucas chuckled.

"Right. See you later, _Princess Dancing Sunshine_."

Riley snorted. Lucas laughed as he walked off, and Riley couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

About an hour later, Riley huffed with frustration and threw herself onto her bed, lying on her back. She stared at the ceiling.

Her eyes were slightly strained for staring at her books for so long. It was wasted effort, considering how she could barely concentrate. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of Maya and Josh, and how on earth she would solve the issue.

It had reached a point where she felt frustrated. Usually a problem was solved within weeks. It had been months, and it was these slow-building problems that Riley always hated. They crept up to you slowly, and by the time you realise that something is wrong, it's too late to figure out how, or why, or when it started.

Standing up, Riley decided to ditch studying. She grabbed her padded vest and beanie. She yanked her boots on, before grabbing her phone and walking out.

Riley headed straight for Farkle's door. She knocked, and a muffled "Come in!" rang out from behind. She shoved the door open to see Farkle at his desk, his face twisted with concentration as he picked at some wires in a pair of robotic gloves.

The room was dim, the only light coming from Farkle's two desk lamps. It was a habit he had. Everything needed to be dark so that he could focus on his inventions.

His bed was neatly made, with posters and magazine clippings full of scientific discoveries, facts and numbers spreading all over the wall above it. Nearby was a bookshelf full of his books and files (not that Farkle really needed them anyway), with his many academic awards and trophies.

His desk was messy, with his laptop wide open and several tech tools that Riley could not name. There were many tiny bolts and screws strewn everywhere. Riley looked down as she accidentally stepped on one.

"Farkle, let's go watch the tourney practice!" Riley chirped brightly.

"Hold on…" Farkle finished up and tossed his pliers to the side, dusting off his hands. He pulled a drawer open, pulling out a flat device.

As he switched it on, screws, bolts and other metallic bits flew up from the carpet around his desk. The one trapped beneath Riley's foot trembled violently, before she stepped back and flew to meet its companions attached to Farkle's magnet-like device.

He dipped the device into a plastic container, and as he switched it off, the small metal bits clattered into the container.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go," he mumbled distractedly, sliding the drawer open and tossed the device back in. Riley watched him with a slight frown as he brushed past her to reach for his coat.

"You okay?" she asked gently as they stepped out and shut the door. He gave her a tight smile and waved it off. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." They began walking down the carpeted hallway, turning towards the stairs leading to the foyer.

"I've been feeling a bit strange, that's all," Farkle said. "Training didn't go too well."

"Well, you're not the only one," Riley murmured as they headed down the stairs. Farkle raised an eyebrow at her.

"Powers acting up for you too?"

"No, for Maya," Riley told him. "She mentioned that they didn't work well today. Maybe the rest are having issues too."

"This seems different, somehow," Farkle mumbled. Riley gave him a sideways glance. "How so?"

Farkle pursed his lips, hesitating before speaking. "I just… feel different around my gadgets. It feels like there's more than just my intellectual abilities. Like there's this strange energy of some sort."

Riley raised her eyebrows slightly. But she smiled. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine." At least, that's what she hoped. She didn't need more things to worry about at the moment.

Farkle smiled as he took a deep breath. "Yeah. You're right. I'm sure it's nothing," she said dismissively. "Still feeling strange though."

Riley smiled suddenly. "Maybe it's because of Smackle."

Farkle's head snapped to turn to her, eyes wide. "What? Why would you say that?"

Riley was never quite as subtle as Maya, so she wasn't even going to try. And it wasn't as though she needed to be anyway.

The rest of the gang had already begun to notice the changes in Farkle and Smackle's relationship, but it was Riley who saw it the clearest.

They no longer argued as much, and were being significantly friendlier towards each other. Initially Riley had passed it off as them finally getting along, but she saw the same look in their eyes that she saw a lot lately.

The look in Maya's eyes whenever Josh walked by. The look in Josh's eyes whenever Maya ignored him. The look in Charlie's eyes whenever he talked to her.

The look in Lucas' eyes whenever he was around her.

She was almost a hundred percent sure that if anyone looked closely enough, they would see the same look in her eyes when she was with the green-eyed boy.

Riley's shrugged casually. "I dunno, maybe you like her and all."

She earned a snort from Farkle. "Pfft, no? We're rivals."

" _Very friendly_ rivals," she reminded him.

"Doesn't mean I like her," Farkle retorted, but Riley heard the unmistakable nervousness in his voice.

"Whatever you say, Farkle," she sighed, biting back her laughter.

They stepped out into the cool air, heading for the tourney field.

* * *

The players were in the middle of their practice drills when Riley and Farkle arrived and sat down at the bleachers. Whinstle took one half of the field, and Melba took the other. Riley smiled as Lucas and Maya spotted them and waved. She and Farkle waved back.

"So how have you been doing, Riley? I feel like we don't get to sit down and just talk as much as we used to. I'm no Maya, but hey, I'm still your second-best friend," Farkle said as he nudged Riley.

Riley laughed. "I'm fine, Farkle. No powers acting up, busy studying for fall finals, stressing about the final tourney match, usual stuff."

"You sure?" Farkle asked skeptically. "Because you seem to have a lot on your mind these days. Takes one to know."

There was a pause as they looked at each other. Riley pursed her lips slightly, her smile fading from her face. She did have a lot on her mind, and maybe it was good to tell someone.

"I guess Maya and Josh are bothering me," she finally spilled. "They've been distant for months now, mostly because of Maya, and I'm worried." Riley looked at Farkle and she knew that he understood what she was talking about.

"It's no secret that Maya likes Josh. A lot," Riley continued, eyes darting to the mentioned two on the field. "I don't know what's changed, and I don't like that I don't know. Maya is my best friend, and I don't know what's going on, and I hate that she won't tell me and that she feels that she can't tell me and that Josh feels upset because of it! And I feel like I'm just getting further and further away, watching her from afar!"

"Easy there Riley," Farkle said slowly at her outburst.

"I just… I just want to _know_ ," Riley said softly. "I hate not knowing. Especially because she's my best friend."

Farkle put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "It will all work out with time, Riley. Maybe they need a little pushing, but this can't last forever."  
"Let's hope you're right," Riley mumbled, as they both watched Maya and Josh, playing on opposite ends of the field.

* * *

"Well, wasn't that intense?"

Maya and Lucas made their way to the benches for their water bottles. Practice had just ended.

"Gotta be prepared for tomorrow's game," Lucas said, before chugging down some water.

"Hey guys!" Riley greeted cheerily, with Farkle behind her as they made their way to their friends. It was late into the afternoon, and the sky was bright orange.

Lucas smiled as she beamed at them. She shone brighter than the sun.

Jokingly, he opened his arms and gestured to her for a hug. Riley crinkled her nose. "I told you I wouldn't hug you, Luke."

She shrieked as he suddenly rushed towards her, dodging his grasp and running behind Farkle. She glared at him, though her lips twitched with a smile.

Lucas laughed.

"You guys played great," Farkle said with a grin. "I also noticed that our dear Billy Ross is not around."

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Maya said with satisfaction. "It fills me with such joy everytime I come for practice and I _don't_ see his stupid face."

"I'm just glad he won't be able to play at the game tomorrow. Then he can't hurt you," Riley said happily. "Thank Mr Fabray and his suspension orders."

Riley watched Maya glance to the side. Some of Billy Ross' friends on the team were eyeing them with dirty looks.

"Not too sure that's completely true, Riles," Maya said. "Looks like his goons are still out to get me."

"You better be prepared this time," Lucas warned. "I am not going to get injured again while trying to protect you."

"Yeah, yeah, Sir Huckleberry In Shining Armor," Maya teased. Lucas pulled a face at her.

"Hey, you are going to protect my best friend with your life if you have to," Riley said threateningly, though none of them could really take her seriously. Riley just wasn't the scary type.

Lucas grinned. "Whatever you say, Princess Dancing Sunshine."

She slapped him on the arm. "I don't call you Maddog, and you don't call me that. Deal?"

Riley's attention suddenly shifted as Josh walked past. Maya purposely looked away, and Riley's gaze followed her uncle.

"See you later guys, I need to ask my uncle something," she mumbled. She gave her best friends a bright smile, before dashing after her uncle.

"I'm gonna go find Smackle and Zay," Farkle said. "We'll meet you guys at the dining hall."

"Bye Farkle," Maya called out.

"Man, I'm nervous about tomorrow," Lucas said, taking another drink from his bottle.

"Speaking of tomorrow, when are you gonna tell Riley?"

Lucas had to stop himself from spitting the water out as Maya smiled with amusement. He wiped his mouth. "I'm gonna be completely honest. I forgot that your little deadline is tomorrow."

Maya shook her head. "Tsk, tsk. I told you I was gonna do something, Ranger Rick."

"Please don't," Lucas groaned.

"Hey, you're not talking to her!"

"Riley and I are talking," Lucas corrected. He glanced at Josh, who stood a distance away. Maya followed his gaze, and her smile faded. Lucas turned to look at her.

"You and Josh, on the other hand, are not."

Maya pursed her lips as they stared at each other. Lucas nodded, before grabbing his bag and heading for the locker rooms.

* * *

Riley stood waiting outside the locker rooms.

This time, she wasn't waiting for Maya or Lucas.

Josh was surprised to see his niece as he walked out, with his towel thrown over his shoulder and his hair damp and messy.

"Hey Riles," he greeted. "What's up?"

"How long are you gonna not try?" Riley immediately questioned him, arms folded. Josh frowned with confusion.

"You're giving up too easily, Josh," she continued. "I'm trying to do something about it, but it would be a lot easier if you just tried to talk to her."

Josh sighed. "Riley, she doesn't want to talk to me. I've been trying for nearly four months. I'm getting sick of it."

"Then don't get sick of it!" Riley exclaimed. "Keep on trying. Because despite how much she tries to push you away, I think deep down she wants you to still care. Because she still cares."

Josh didn't reply. He pulled his lips into a hard line. The only sound in the empty corridor was water splashing from the showers.

"I'm saying this because I love the both of you, and I want you both to be happy," Riley said firmly. "You need to fight for each other. Anything less from either of you makes me really disappointed. So I'm pushing you, because you need to be pushed."

Josh moved to walk past her.

"Whether or not you do something, Josh, I will find a way to make you both talk," Riley said to him over her shoulder. He paused, giving her a grim smile.

Riley was left alone as the sound of the exit door swinging shut echoed through the corridor.

* * *

 **Seems like things are changing amongst our favourite JASPA kids. I really am very busy and it's draining my creative juices. Sorry if this chapter is a bit dry (and full of errors).**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews and enjoys this story. Your support means a lot.**

 **Till the next update :)**

 **-malenburke**


	10. Chapter 9: Victory

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Victory**

"Would you please calm down?" Farkle laughed, watching his goofball friend jumping and fidgeting.

"Two of my best friends are about to head into the biggest showdown this school has ever seen, and you're asking me to _calm down_?!" Riley exclaimed, throwing him an incredulous look.

They were seated in the stands, waiting for the final tourney game to begin. All around them, students were buzzing with excitement. There was an air of suspense and breathless anticipation as they waited to see how this year's games would turn out.

"Riley, it's just tourney," Smackle said calmly.

"What do you mean, _just_ tourney!" Zay gasped. "Tourney is the most excitement we get in this place. And that's saying something, considering how we're all abnormal freaks."

"I mean like, one team wins a trophy. Everyone gets all excited. And then what?" Smackle said. "We all go back to normal, with our abnormal lives. No one cares after three weeks."

"Pretty sure it's just you, Smackle," Riley chuckled. "Tourney is a big deal here. You should know that by now."

"I know it, but I choose to ignore it," Smackle responded. "I have never understood the point of taking sports so seriously. I mean, sure, it's fun and exciting. But academics are far more useful and important. Not to mention that there are other things beyond sports that we need to pay more attention to."

"Like what?" Zay questioned, folding his arms.

"Like studying people," Smackle said as-a-matter-of-factly. "The study of the human condition has always intrigued me. Why we behave the way we do. It will do one well to learn why people function the way we do. Sports merely allows us to understand that humans can be pushed to using pure aggression, basic instinct and maximum physical capacity when faced with a threat."

"No one thinks that much, Smackle," Riley said.

"I do! I think a lot." Farkle's hand shot up as a gleeful grin spread across his face. Smackle gave him an appreciative smile.

"The point is, Melba has never come this close to actually winning the champion title. And now they have a chance, because of good players like Maya and Lucas," Riley blurted. "I want this to go well for them, because the whole school is excited to see what will happen to Melba. I want them to prove that Melba can do it, and that girls can do it too in Maya's case."

Zay gave Riley a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "They'll be fine, Sugar. Stop worrying. Maya and Lucas are more than capable."

They were interrupted when everyone erupted in cheers, jumping to their feet. Riley, Zay, Smackle and Farkle joined in, as the Melba and Whinstle players trooped onto the field.

Riley smiled to herself as Lucas gave Maya a gentle thwack in the back of her helmet, and Maya punched him in the shoulder.

Melba and Whinstle did their respective team hustles, before spreading out and bracing themselves.

As everyone sat back down, Riley's gaze drifted to her uncle. He looked more than ready to beat Melba. She smiled, before turning away.

She would not let her worries about Josh and Maya ruin the game for her.

And this was one game she could enjoy, because Billy Ross was sitting two rows in front of them, sulking as he watched his team prepare for a game he could not take part in.

* * *

"RUN, YOU IDIOT! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!"

Riley was beside herself, shrieking and screaming like there was no tomorrow. Normally, Farkle would have eyed her warily, but he too was hollering. In fact, everyone was. Because Lucas was dashing across the field, nearing the goal post with the ball in his possession.

" _Lucas Friar is nearing the goal! Will he make it? Will Melba finally win?_ "

"C'MON LUCAS FRIAR, MOVE THOSE LEGS!" Riley was red in the face. In her excitement, she scrambled to stand on her seat.

"Woah, woah, calm down Riley!" Zay yelled over the deafening cheers, gently pulling her back down to the ground. He was barely containing his excitement as well.

Team Melba screamed as Lucas swiftly dodged a Whinstle defense player, bouncing the ball. He was so close.

Suddenly, he eyed Josh running at him. Gritting his teeth, he swerved as Josh barreled towards him, tossing the ball to Maya.

Josh and Lucas crashed to the ground, but Maya sped past them, the ball in her possession.

" _Maya Hart is in possession!_ "

Everyone around Riley was yelling their lungs out, overwhelmed with the adrenaline.

" _Will she make it?_ "

Riley felt her shrieks suddenly lodge in her throat, holding her breath as Maya slowed in front of the finish line. She swung her stick back.

" _Wait- Is she actually going to-"_

Riley's heart nearly leapt out of her throat as Charlie, playing defense, came out of nowhere and slammed into Maya. Everyone gasped.

"Ohmygod," Smackle squeaked.

But he was too late.

Maya's ball shot straight into the net, just as Charlie and Maya crashed to the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Everyone watched with bated breath as Charlie dizzily stood up. Maya was on the ground. Riley felt her heart stop.

And then Maya raised her fist into the air.

It was like the world had exploded in one great moment. Team Melba was screaming and cheering, beside themselves with elation.

" _And for the first time in fifteen years, Melba wins the Tourney Cup! What an extraordinary moment! Absolutely spectacular!"_

Even the teachers were cheering. The teachers didn't support any team, but Melba's victory was particularly special.

The Whinstle players sighed, some even flinging their helmets and sticks to the ground. But some like Josh and Charlie congratulated the Melba players.

"Riley, why are you crying?!"

Farkle had to yell over the deafening screams and cheers around them. On the field, the Melba players collided into each other in their rush to hug and grip one another, screaming and bellowing with joy and triumph.

Lucas had reached Maya first. He pulled her up from the ground, giving her a crushing hug. Seconds later, Maya was surrounded and suffocated by the other Melba players. She was hoisted onto their shoulders, cheering with happiness.

Riley could not stop the tears of absolute joy.

"They won, Farkle, _they won_!" Riley cried. "They- Maya she- She scored the goal, Farkle!"

"I know, I know," Farkle said soothingly, attempting to contain his own excitement. Zay had lost it completely, thrashing about and screaming like a mad monkey. Even Smackle, despite her seeming disinterest towards sports, was freaking out.

Team Melba had never been happier to see their players on the field. There was a strong sense of pride, and unity.

On the opposite side of the field, Whinstle supporters were slumped in disappointment, but many clapped and even cheered for Melba anyway.

And as she jumped up and down, watching Maya and Lucas beam with pride and triumph, Riley realised that she hadn't felt this much happiness, joy and love in weeks. It felt amazing.

* * *

Still bursting with excitement, Riley dashed down the corridor to the locker rooms. She could hear the Melba players still celebrating their victory, their shouts of joy bouncing off of the walls.

She knew that by now, Maya, Lucas and Josh should have been done freshening up. Zay, Farkle and Smackle had already gone ahead to the dining hall, where they were to have their celebratory after-game gathering.

As she reached the female locker rooms, she peered inside. Maya should have been the only one inside. Riley stepped in.

"Maya?" she called out. When she got no reply, she assumed that Maya had already gone out. She turned back out into the tiled corridor, moving to wait outside the male locker room, when she heard familiar voices.

"Congratulations, Maya."

Riley perked up at the kind, familiar voice of her uncle. She strained her ears, realising that the voices were coming from around the corner. Quietly moving away from the locker rooms, she slowly peeked around the wall.

Maya and Josh stood in the empty corridor, their conversation far from the loud cheers and excited chatter of their teammates. Maya's hair was still dripping slightly after showering, and Josh had his towel around his neck.

Immediately Riley knew that this was a private thing, so she remained silent, peeking at them from a distance.

"Thank you, Josh," her best friend was saying, and Riley could hear the awkwardness in her voice. It seemed as though she had been cornered by Josh.

Her uncle scratched the back of his head. "Look, Maya, I'm sorry for the way I acted . I shouldn't have made you feel that Lucas getting hurt was your fault."

Maya bit her lip. She cleared her throat. "It's alright. I should have listened to you."

There was another tense pause. Riley had to stop herself from bursting out and screaming " _Say something you idiot!_ " at her uncle.

Josh smiled. "You played really well today. Best game I've seen so far. And I'm not saying that because you're a girl."

Maya gave a small chuckle. "Thanks."

Riley couldn't stop the smile spreading on her face. Maybe things were on the way to getting back to normal.

"You weren't too bad yourself," Maya continued. "Your defenses were better than usual."

"Not enough to stop you, as I can see."

They both laughed, and while it was half-hearted, Riley felt hope growing in her heart.

"Hey Riles."

Riley nearly screamed and jumped out of her skin when someone tapped on her shoulder. She spun around to see Lucas' startled face.

"Did I scare you?" he asked.

Riley's hands shot out to clamp over his mouth, and Lucas eyed her with alarm. She gestured for him to keep quiet, before peeking out at Maya and Josh again. Frowning slightly with confusion, Lucas shifted to peer out as well. Riley smiled to herself as she noted how he towered over her, his comforting warmth right behind her.

Lucas' face was cleared of all confusion as he took in the exchange going on. "Ohh," he murmured quietly under his breath, and Riley and him silently watched as Maya and Josh smiled at each other.

"You know, I'm glad Billy was suspended. He could have injured a star player," Josh was saying.

Maya tilted her head slightly. "You mean Lucas?"

Riley resisted the urge to snort. They all knew that Josh wasn't talking about Lucas. Behind her, Lucas shifted slightly.

Josh shook his head. "I meant you. You're a real star, Maya Hart. Melba is lucky to have you."

Maya paused, probably with shock. Her face softened, and she smiled. This time, it was genuine. "Thanks. It means a lot to me."

Riley and Lucas gave each other excited grins, before they focused their attention back to Josh and Maya.

Josh seemed to be considering something. He took a deep breath. "Maya, why have you been avoiding me? I mean, it _was_ pretty weird when you suddenly started being so distant, when just six months ago you were still-"

"Freaking out whenever you came by?" Maya cut in. Suddenly, her voice was hardening again. "I don't do that anymore."

"I can tell."

Josh and Maya stared at each other. Riley held her breath.

"Is it because you don't like me anymore?" Josh asked wearily, and Riley could identify with the tone in his voice. He just wanted answers. Just like her.

Maya gazed at him for a bit, her distilled blue eyes studying his expression. "It's because I've realised, that sometimes we have to let go."

"Of what?" Josh questioned, the urgency more evident in his voice this time.

From around the corner, Riley and Lucas watched with bated breath, as Maya sighed deeply, before straightening up and looking Josh in the eye.

"I have to go, Josh."

Lucas had to hold Riley back as she began to rush forward, nearly revealing their little eavesdropping session.

Josh started forward. "Maya, I-"

"I'll see you around, Josh." Maya took a few steps backwards, her voice cracking slightly. She spun on her heel, and walked back down the corridor towards the locker rooms.

Lucas and Riley scrambled to stand nearer to the locker room, trying to look as though they hadn't noticed anything. As they were plastering fake relaxed smiles onto their faces, Maya rounded the corner.

"Hey peaches!" Riley greeted Maya cheerily, praying that she wasn't overdoing it.

"Hey guys," Maya said back, a small smile on her face. She was good at pretending that nothing had happened.

"You were amazing out there. I'm so so so proud of you," Riley cooed, struggling to channel her earlier feelings of pride and excitement into her facade as she hugged Maya.

"Great job, Champ," Lucas added encouragingly. Maya smiled at the both of them as she pulled away from Riley.

"Thanks guys," she said happily, her earlier hype from winning the game returning. She draped one arm over Riley's neck, her other arm attempting to do the same with Lucas as they made their way towards the exit.

Lucas laughed as Maya scowled, failing to properly reached over his shoulders.

"Whatever. You're too tall, you freakish giant," Maya muttered, before giving Lucas a shove with her free hand. Riley giggled.

"I believe it's because you're a midget, Shortstack," Lucas retorted casually, earning him a punch to the arm from the feisty blonde.

As the three friends laughed and headed out, Riley caught Maya throwing one last glance behind them. At the other end of the corridor, Josh looked on, a strange look of longing and hope on his face.

* * *

"They're finally here! Team Melba's star players!" Zay called out cheerily as Maya, Lucas and Riley walked into the dining hall. It was a little after lunch time, and the dining hall was clearing out.

Zay, Farkle and Smackle sat at the gang's usual table, several plates of waffles, hotdogs and cans of soda spread out on the table.

"You guys played great!" Farkle said joyfully, giving Maya a quick squeeze.

"Thanks Farkle," Maya smiled.

"Maybe you guys were right," Smackle said, turning to Riley, Farkle and Zay.

Riley furrowed her eyebrows. "About what?"

"There's more to sports than I realised," Smackle said with a shrug. "It's the feelings we feel because of it that make it special."

"Spot on, Smackle," Lucas said with a grin. "Join the club."

"Is anyone gonna eat these hotdogs?" Zay cut in, staring hungrily at the food. "Because they look like they want some attention."

Everyone laughed, and they all sat down.

As they basked in the joy of Melba's latest victory, their spirits high and their hearts full, none noticed the hateful stares coming from across the room.

Billy Ross and his friends stood up, walking out of the dining hall.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Look at Rucas shipping Joshaya. How cute. Hope you enjoyed this update!**

 **Till next time :)**

 **\- malenburke**


	11. Chapter 10: Revealed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Revealed**

When the hype of the tourney final had faded and the teachers had begun nagging about finals once more, everyone in JASPA found life to be rather dry and unfairly busy.

The gang found themselves in Smackle's room this time. They figured her many, many books would be of good use. Of course, Farkle himself was a walking encyclopaedia and more. But his genius brain and impossibly extensive knowledge were just a bit too excessive at time. The rest usually couldn't tell which information was important, because it was all the same to Farkle.

So there they were, quietly reading and taking notes, trying to cram information into their heads.

Lucas couldn't concentrate for various reasons. One was that Zay kept on disturbing him, asking which information he could memorise to get him a pass.

Another was because Riley was right next to him, looking so adorable and beautiful as she scrunched her face up in a mix of concentration and confusion, chewing the end of her pencil. It was hard to focus when there was a huge distraction right next to him.

The biggest reason was because Maya kept giving him sneaky glances and sly smiles, subtly motioning towards Riley. The past few days had been a bit stressful for him. On top of the big game and the wonderful victory afterwards, Lucas had been on edge the whole time because of Maya's threat.

He was sure she meant no harm by it, and she hadn't actually done anything that day, but he knew that she would eventually. And he didn't like the idea of his feelings being made known and potentially jeopardising his friendship with Riley.

He stared at Maya warily as she caught his eye again, her own blue ones twinkling with playfulness and mischief. Her smile widened slightly.

The worst part was that unlike Riley, Lucas couldn't read Maya. He had no idea of what was going on in her head.

He started slightly when Riley suddenly shifted next to him and stood up, breaking the silence. "I'm gonna go get some snacks. Anyone wants to come?" she asked lightly, stretching.

"Me! I'm bored out of my mind," Farkle said exasperatedly, tossing aside the book he hadn't even been reading because he knew everything inside already.

"I don't know why they still make you take exams at all," Smackle remarked. "It's not like you need to prove anything about your intelligence anyway."

"I still have to take the special abilities test though," Farkle pointed out. "My enhanced intelligence doesn't necessary outshine all of your abilities when it comes to our powers."

"That's like, one exam," Maya grumbled. "You ace everything else."

"It is how it is, Maya," Farkle chuckled. "C'mon Riles, let's go."

Riley smiled and the two headed out the door, shutting it behind them.

Immediately, Maya had tossed a pillow at Lucas' face.

"After days of stalling, you choose to start with a pillow," Lucas deadpanned.

"When are you going to tell her?" Maya demanded.

"Tell who what?" Zay blinked at his friends in confusion, abandoning all notions of studying and thankful for the distraction.

"Lucas likes Riley but he doesn't want to tell her out of fear that he will ruin their friendship and Maya is threatening to do something about it if he doesn't tell Riley soon," Smackle revealed casually, flipping through her notes on biology.

"And after all those weeks of anxiously waiting for Maya to do something, it's Smackle who spills everything. What a plot twist," Lucas said sarcastically.

"Wait, really?" Zay exclaimed in surprise. "Dude, you like Riley?"

"How have you not noticed?!" Maya hissed. "Actually, never mind. You're as dense as Farkle and Riley."

"Hey, Riley isn't that dense," Lucas defended. "She happened to pick up on you and-"

"I dare you to finish that sentence," Maya said with a glare. Lucas' mouth snapped shut, though he smiled slightly, knowing he had at least one thing on her.

"Listen here Sundance, you've been delaying this for weeks, months, maybe even years," Maya said. "This thing goes way back to 6th Year. And don't even try to deny it."

"I'm denying it right now," Lucas said stubbornly. "Whatever you think I feel, it sure as hell just started recently."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Maya retorted. The two only swore when talking to each other. They tried not to in front of innocent little Riley. "Remember good old Cheese Soufflé? How did that turn out?"

"Yeah man, you were pretty dang jealous when Charlie dated Riley," Zay pointed out.

"I was not!" Lucas insisted.

"You completely were," Smackle said calmly, turning another page in her notes. "And don't try telling me my observations were wrong."

"I'm just saying, Charlie and Riley have been going on those little study sessions together more often than we'd all like," Zay told him.

"I know, Zay, you don't have to remind me."

"Then don't be a lump of pathetic wimpiness and do something!" Maya snapped.

Lucas sighed. "Guys, even if I do have feelings for Riley-"

"You do."

"-it should be my choice on when to tell her," Lucas talked loudly over Maya.

"I'm sorry Ranger Rick, but if we let you do that it will never happen," Maya said flatly. "Both you and Riley are too scared to do anything. You're dancing around this thing between the two of you and you're too afraid to face it head on."

Lucas made no reply, allowing Maya's words to sink in. Was she right? Had he been avoiding this for years already?

He knew what he felt for Riley. At the same time, there was a lingering fear that she didn't feel that way too. And she deserved better than a dangerous guy with anger management issues and a depressing past.

Suddenly something about what Maya said struck him. His eyes shot up to look at her. "What do you mean, both me and Riley?"

Before Maya could reply, Riley and Farkle's laughter was heard, and seconds later the door swung open.

Maya's sank back against the big pillow behind her, marking the end of the conversation.

"Alright, we got a hotdog for Zay, dried fruit for Smackle, a chocolate milkshake for Maya, a cotton candy shake for me, cashew nuts for Farkle," Riley listed as she handed out the snacks to the respective people. Lastly, she gave Lucas a steaming cup of coffee.

"Milk, no sugar," Riley murmured with a small smile.

He smiled, reaching up to take it. "Just the way I want it."

It was hard to ignore the way everyone else was watching the exchange, throwing knowing glances at each other.

Lucas swallowed his questions down as Riley flopped back down next to him. Her usually comforting presence now made him uneasy. The uncertainty growing between them disturbed him. Whether or not he felt his friends were right, he had to do something about it.

* * *

"Remind me why we're here again?" Farkle whispered. He followed Lucas and Zay through the library, winding through the tall shelves crammed with books.

"To study," Lucas whispered back.

"We all know you have another aim, buddy," Zay murmured. Lucas stopped in his tracks and spun around to give his best friend a hard stare.

"And what would that be?"

"Man, we both know you're here because Charlie and Riley are here," Zay said simply.

Lucas felt his face grow hot. "I am not."

"Am too."

Lucas pursed his lips. "Okay, maybe I am. I just don't like it. He obviously still likes her, and I wanna make sure he's not trying to push anything."

"You wouldn't care so much if you didn't like her more than you like Cuddlebunnies."

Lucas' glared at him, looking around to make sure no one had heard. "You nearly revealed two of my biggest secrets, you moron," he hissed.

"Not my fault I know that you secretly fangirl at night after curfew. I can hear your TV blaring from next door."

"Okay, enough about that," Lucas hurriedly quietened Zay. "Look, I actually do want to get some studying done. And maybe doing it here in a quiet place will get you to stop bugging me."

Zay snorted. "Yeah right."

"Zay can't study no matter what conditions you put him under," Farkle said.

Ignoring the remark, Lucas led Farkle and Zay to a nearby table, nestled amongst several tall bookshelves. They had not yet spotted Riley and Charlie, and Lucas was beginning to feel a bit silly.

They sat down, but Lucas stood up almost immediately. "I'm gonna go find some books."

"Whatever you want," Zay drawled, though him and Farkle exchanged glances.

Lucas headed into the maze of bookshelves, twisting and turning out of sight. When he was sure that his friends weren't following him, he began his search. Not for books, but for a certain brunette with a certain rival of his.

He peeked around corners and in between bookshelves, careful not to reveal himself to anyone.

The library was huge, and had a complicated layout. He was about to give up, when heard the familiar tinkle of her laughter.

Slowly inching towards a bookshelf, he peeked through a gap in the books.

Riley and Charlie sat at a table on the other side, smiling and laughing softly. Several books were open on the table, and Riley had her pencil in her hand.

Lucas felt the monster of jealousy growing again. And he hated himself for it.

What he failed to realise was that Riley was feeling rather uncomfortable. While Charlie could be funny at times and it wasn't hard to laugh at his remarks, she knew that there was something more that he wanted from her. All she wanted to do was go back to her friends, but out of politeness and sheer niceness, she couldn't bear to say so to Charlie.

So she smiled when she had to, constantly trying to turn his attention back to studying instead of trying to impress her. Because no matter what, the only thing that impressed Riley was Charlie's unwavering determination to make her fall for him.

Sometimes she wondered why she didn't like Charlie. He was upfront about his feelings, and he was a sweet guy. But whenever she thought about Charlie, her mind would only drift back to the other boy, the one who wasn't upfront about his feelings and didn't give her many hints on how he felt.

Here was a guy who knew what he wanted, and did his best to get it. Riley didn't know much about the nature of Lucas' affection towards her, and yet she chose to hold onto the hope that he felt the same way.

And no matter what, Charlie's chivalry and his ambitions were dull in comparison to Lucas and his burning passion, loyalty and courage, despite all his imperfections. Charlie could never compare to Lucas and what he meant to Riley.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a movement in the corner of her eye. As Charlie rambled on about his opinion on ethics and the treatment of prisoners of war, Riley let her eyes wander to the bookshelf to her left, careful not to let Charlie know she wasn't paying attention.

It was hard to spot, but through the gaps in the bookshelf, she caught sight of a familiar deep blue shirt. Almost immediately she smiled. She knew that the faint smell of fresh pine and earth couldn't have come from nowhere. And she knew exactly who was behind the bookshelf.

She turned to Charlie. She waited a few moments for him to finish.

"That's some good insight, Charlie, I agree with a lot of your points," she said gently. "I'm gonna go check out some books. I'll be right back."

"Sure thing," Charlie said, beaming at her compliment. Riley stood up, and walked over to the bookshelf.

Lucas had turned away from his peeping hole the moment he saw Riley turn her head towards the bookshelf. He pressed his back flat against the thick, worn books, and stared at the ones across from him.

As he thought about what he was doing, he felt that he was beginning to seem more and more like a creep.

Oh well, too late to stop now.

He slowly moved to peep through the bookshelf. Riley was gone.

"What're you looking at?"

Lucas nearly jumped out of his skin as he retreated back from the bookshelf, eyes looking around wildly until they landed on Riley's grinning face. She stood there, right next to where he had been standing.

Lucas' face burned, knowing that he had been caught. "Geez, you scared the living daylights out of me, Riles," he murmured softly.

"Were you spying on me?" Riley whispered calmly, a sweet smile spread across her face.  
Lucas snorted, trying to cover it up. "Pfft, no. I was just… looking at these books really close."

"Uh huh."

Lucas held his breath as they stared at each other. Riley raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, and Lucas sighed.

"Fine. Maybe I was."

"And why, dear Lukey, were you doing that?" Riley whispered, trying to fight back her laughter. She had to admit, it was hilarious. And really flattering.

Lucas bit his lip, before giving her a shrug. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"From behind a bookshelf?"

"I didn't want to disturb you and Charlie!"

Riley giggled, trying to keep her voice down. "You're a terrible liar, you know. Admit it, you're jealous."

That statement shocked Lucas. Heck, it shocked Riley. Normally they didn't talk about any feelings between them, and here she was, implying that Lucas was jealous.

Riley felt braver than she normally would. Maybe it was the quiet of the library, or the idea that no one else would be listening. And now that she had caught him, vulnerable, she felt as though she didn't have to hide anything anymore.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows slightly, though the corners of his mouth turned up. "Jealous of what? Charlie's strange ability to spew out facts that he memorised from a textbook?"

"No, jealous that I'm spending time with him and not you," Riley said, giving Lucas a gentle poke.

Lucas scoffed, but inside his heart was racing. "What a conceited thing to say."

Riley faked a gasp, bringing a hand to her chest in mock offense. "How terrible of you to say that. I am anything but conceited."

Lucas chuckled under his breath.

"Seriously though." Riley smiled at him, stepping towards him. "Lucas, you're doing that thing again."

Lucas swallowed. "What thing?"

"You know, where you get really defensive when Charlie is concerned." Her voice faded into a soft murmur as her deep brown eyes looked up at him. "You don't have to do that, Lucas."

"I can't help it," Lucas said honestly. "I don't trust him with you."

"Why?" Riley pushed gently. "Why don't you trust him?"

Here Lucas had to choose his words carefully. "I care about you a lot. And I know Charlie's feelings towards you. I know he makes you uncomfortable, and I don't like knowing you're wasting time on him," he said. "Charlie's not your guy, Riles. Remember?"

As Lucas' peridot eyes flashed with something Riley couldn't quite identify, her mind flashed back to that evening in the hallway. He remembered. He remembered how she was waiting for the right guy to come along.

She felt a rush of courage.

"Lucas, I..."

But as soon as it came, it was gone. Lucas looked at her expectantly. Riley swallowed her words back down. It wasn't the right time.

"I know that, Luke," Riley said softly, gently. "But there are other things you should be concerned about. Tourney, finals, your abilities. I shouldn't be your top priority."

Lucas had never heard a more ludicrous statement. Or felt greater disappointment.

"You'll always be my top priority, Riley Matthews," he whispered, and for once he was glad that it was genuine.

Riley didn't say anything, and they stared at each other, both holding back words they wanted to let out.

* * *

Later that evening, Riley headed for the dorms to find Maya and Smackle. The boys said that they would meet them in the dining hall.

She finally reached Maya's room, and pushed the door open.

Maya and Smackle were silently reading from books and notes. At least, Smackle was. Maya looked like she wanted to be ten million miles away from JASPA.

"Alright, which one of you is Maya?" Riley demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"She is," one Smackle said, pointing a finger at the other. The other Smackle shook her head as she calmly flipped through her book. "Nope, I'm the real Smackle."

"Cut it out Maya, whichever one you are." The second Smackle suddenly sprouted longer, wavy blonde locks, the dark hair fading away. The face morphed and the glasses faded to reveal Maya's grinning face.

"Not bad," Riley said, impressed. "I almost thought you were the real Smackle."

"Well, that is thoroughly insulting," Smackle said.

"Yeah, gotta step up your Smackle game, Smackle," Maya said with a smirk.

"Whatever," Smackle muttered. She gathered her books and stood up. "I'm hungry. I'll be heading to the dining hall first."

"The boys are already there," Riley told her as Smackle turned to the door.

"Great. See you guys in a while!" Smackle called out, before leaving Maya's room.

"Clean it up, peaches," Riley warned as Maya stood up, leaving all her books, notes and stationery lying all over the hard wooden floor.

Maya whined, before flopping back down to gather her things.

Riley took the time to look around Maya's room. In comparison to Riley's, it was much wilder. It was messy, with books, Melba banners, photos, paintbrushes, paintings and several pots of paint decorating the room, as though Maya had flung them upon the initially empty space and left the items to claim their own territories.

Riley smiled at a painting of a forest aglow with deep yellows, bright oranges and streaming amber. She still remembered the day Maya painted that. They were sitting under the big oak, just the two of them, watching the sun set.

"At five o'clock, everything turns golden," Maya had said. "I want people to see that."

Maya had always been a talented artist. Riley wanted people to see that. Knowing that her best friend had something that she could be proud of, something she could develop and live for, made Riley very, very happy.

As her father had told her during Christmas week two years ago, there were only a few important things that helped people to grow. Purpose, pain, and love.

Love.

Maya had gone through pain. She had found her purpose. What about love?

Riley knew that Maya had already found it. She just didn't want to keep it.

"Peaches, come here," Riley said, sitting down on Maya's bed. Maya stood up and frowned, before walking over and plopping down next to Riley.

"We're not done with our earlier conversation," Riley said softly. Maya's eyes filled with dread and panic. At the same time, there was something that told Riley that Maya was tired of running.

"Tell me honestly. Do you like my uncle?" Riley asked.

Maya bit her lip. And then she released all her pent up feelings in one big sigh. "It's more than that, Riles." So quiet, so soft.

Riley took a deep breath and pushed forward. "You've always made it known that you like him. Why have you stopped-"

"Because now that it's more than just a crush," Maya suddenly burst out, "I realised that it would only hurt more when..."

She trailed off, staring at her hands in her lap.

"When what?" Riley said softly.

Maya remained quiet, fiddling with her fingers. She straightened up and looked straight at Riley.  
"Tell me something, Riles. How old are we?"

"Fifteen," Riley replied. Start simple then get to the point. Riley always liked that.

"And how old is Josh?"

"Eighteen."

"Eighteen," Maya repeated. "And what is the difference between our ages?"

"Three years," Riley murmured. "Look, Maya, why does the age difference matter-"

"The age difference didn't matter back then!" Maya exclaimed. "I made my crush obvious, because that's all it was: a crush. A silly little puppy love. Deep inside, I knew we would never be together, but it was nice to have that crush. Made me feel excited. Because I knew they wouldn't be real."

"Until they were," Riley said quietly. Maya nodded, swallowing thickly. "Riley, have they ever let us out of here?"

"No, but what does this-"

"When will they let us out?"

"Eighteen," Riley said, finally realising where this was headed.

"Exactly. Josh is leaving next summer, Riles," Maya said, sounding so sad, and torn. "We will still be here. And I've been avoiding him because-"

"When he leaves, it will hurt more," Riley finished. Everything clicked into place. Maya had never dealt well with people who just... left. That's why she pushed Josh away. So that leaving her would be less of a problem.

Riley felt a wave of sadness and disappointment in herself wash over her. How hadn't she seen this before?

Maya was silent as they stared at each other. Emotion swam in her clear, bright blue eyes.

"We only get out in three years, Riles. By then, he'll be twenty-one. He'll be in a great college, meeting great people and other girls. Normal girls. Not like us. We can't see him, talk to him, be with him for three years. And if I start something now, it will be too much when it ends," Maya said, her voice shaking.

Riley didn't know what to say. "Maybe he can visit-"

"He can't," Maya sighed. "I've already asked. You can't come back unless you want to work here. And I want more for him than to be trapped here forever."

"Then treasure what you have left!" Riley insisted. "Tell him. Spend as much time as you can together. Don't lose him yet."

"He was never mine, Riles," Maya whispered. "Better to let go now. I don't want to bear that pain. And I don't want him to carry that burden."

Silence passed over them. Riley clung onto the last string of hope, she only thing me she could say to convince her best friend to tell Josh about her feelings.

"But Maya, you love him."

Maya's eyes welled up with tears. She forced a smile. "I know. But, hope is for suckers, right?"

Riley pulled Maya into a hug, and Maya blinked her tears away. They sat there in their embrace, as the hands on the clock ticked passed five, and the amber rays of the descending sun coloured everything around them gold.

* * *

 **Aw :( This was quite a sad chapter, but I quite like it. I hope you guys liked it too! What do you think Maya's gonna do about Josh?**

 **Until the next chapter :)**

 **\- malenburke**


	12. Chapter 11: Family

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Family**

Fall finals came and went quickly. Miraculously, all of them managed to pass, including Maya and Zay.

Weeks passed, and the brown and orange leaves eventually shrivelled up and died away, and snow began its descent upon the JASPA campus.

The weather was now extra chilly, and everyone was enjoying the winter landscape. The gardens looked extremely pretty, and it was common to see the students outside building snowmen or having snowball fights. Not to mention, the stress was finally gone, and they had more to look forward to: Christmas Week.

Christmas Week, the time every JASPA student looked forward to each year. The one time they got to see their parents, tell them everything that happened since the last Christmas, all that they'd learnt and all the things they had done. How much they had grown and how much they missed their parents. Ask questions on what they were missing outside, what was going on back home. Just be with the ones they loved.

Riley liked to take photos and print them out, to give to her parents so they could see what she had been up to. They did the same, and Riley kept a scrapbook full of pictures of her family's life back in New York.

There were many pictures of Auggie in particular, and she could already see how fast he was growing. Auggie was eight this year. It seemed like just yesterday when he was taking his first steps, riding his first bike, playing his first soccer game.

Riley could only long for more. The snapshots of her brother's life never really helped to fill the empty hole in her heart.

It didn't help that Auggie wasn't allowed to come with his parents to visit JASPA. So every year they told him the same story. They were going to visit Topanga's parents for a week, before returning the morning of Christmas to be with Auggie. Riley got them for Christmas Eve, Auggie got them for Christmas Day.

Riley was thankful for it all the same. And since her birthday came in early December, they always treated it as a double celebration.

Riley looked out her window at the night sky, watching the gentle snowflakes float down onto the lawns. Tomorrow she would be fifteen. All her friends already were. It was her turn.

Riley drew her sheer curtains shut, before backing away from the bay window and slipping into bed. She flipped her lamp off, and stared up at the ceiling.

There was always something poignant about turning another year older. It a wonderful thing, celebrating another year of life. But the kids is JASPA never got to celebrate with their families.

They didn't get to go to waterparks, or have a party, or go to some fancy restaurant.

For some, it meant another year without their parents. Another year missing out on the outside world. Another year closer to leaving their friends. Another year closer to death.

But Riley never really liked negatives. For her, it was another year to seeing her parents again. Another year closer to finally meeting the outside world. Another year of making memories with her friends. Another year living.

She closed her eyes, drifting off with a gentle smile on her face. How thrilling.

* * *

"Maya, of all your birthday surprises for Riley, this is the weirdest one yet."

"Oh, shut up Ranger Rick. Not like you have anything better. Plus, this is a surprise from _all of us_ , not just me."

"To be fair, that is a pretty amazing looking pomelo," Farkle mused. Maya smirked proudly, holding a paper mache pomelo piñata in her arms. "Thank you, Farkle. I'm glad _someone_ appreciates it," she said as she gave Lucas a pointed stare.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Remind me why it's a pomelo again?" Zay asked, pulling several purple and blue helium balloons with him.

"Riley's been really into pomelos lately," Smackle told him. "She likes the fruit itself, and how its name sounds."

"It's more of the second one, but yeah," Farkle added. He and Smackle held the gang's presents.

"Pomelo," Lucas said out loud. He shrugged. "Can see why she likes it. It's one of those 'cute' words."

"Along with potato, tomato, jelly, belly, squirtle, tinkle, boop, and Farkle," Maya added.

"Farkle?" Lucas laughed. Farkle gave him a frown. Maya grinned. "She's always thought he has a cute name. Farkle Farkle Farkle."

"I think Lucas' name is on the list too then," Zay remarked, and Maya laughed and gave him a fistbump.

Lucas' face turned red, and he shoved Zay. Zay only laughed louder, and Smackle and Farkle threw each other amused smiles.

"Alright, we're here. Everyone keep quiet," Maya said. They were in front of Riley's door.

Slowly, Maya eased the door open, and they slipped into Riley's room.

Lucas had to stop himself from grinning as they all looked at Riley.

She was asleep, the top of her head barely visible as she buried herself underneath her quilt.

From where he was, Lucas could see that her mouth was slightly open, and he was sure he could see a bit of drool. Her hair was a mess, sprawled across her pillow in tangled knots.

She looked adorable.

Maya brought a finger to her lips, motioning for the rest to be quiet. Slowly, she pulled Riley's desk chair to the bay window.

Lucas walked over, and Maya passed the pomelo piñata to him. He climbed onto the chair, and Farkle handed him the rope.

Within a few minutes, the pomelo pinata was hanging from the curtain rod above the bay window. It stood out against Riley's light, sheer curtains.

They got into their places, barely containing their excitement. They loomed over a sleeping Riley with the helium balloons and their presents.

Maya gently tickled Riley's face with her own hair. The rest held their breaths. Riley giggled softly, a smile spreading across her face in her half-awake state. Maya continued, and Riley's giggles grew louder until she was swatting the hair away.

Her eyes fluttered open.

"SURPRISE!" her five friends screamed in her face.

Riley jolted up, her head colliding with Farkle's and narrowly missing Lucas'. She yelped as they all jumped back.

"Oww," Riley and Farkle whined in unison, as Riley collapsed back down onto her pillow and Farkle rubbed his head with a wince.

"Geez Riley, I don't know whose head is harder: yours or mine," Farkle groaned.

"That is an interesting question, isn't it?" Smackle remarked with a slight smirk. "Riley is hard-headed about being positive, and Farkle is just hard-headed."

Farkle glared at her, still rubbing his head.

"It's your special day Riles!" Maya whooped happily. Riley looked at her through half-lidded eyes, evidently clueless.

"It's December 8," Maya said. Riley blinked.

"It's your birthday, you silly chump."

"Oh. _Oh_!" Riley exclaimed, sitting back up. Lucas and Zay laughed.

"Happy Birthday, Riles," Lucas cheered fondly. She smiled at him sleepily. "Thanks Luke." Her eyes drifted to the presents in their hands, before they caught sight of the round piñata hanging at the bay window. She frowned with confusion, squinting at it.

"What the heck is that?" she asked. She moved to climb out of bed, but as she lifted her quilt she shivered. "Nope, too cold. Not getting out." She pulled the covers up to her chin and just stared at the pomelo piñata and her friends.

"Stop being a wimp and get out!" Maya exclaimed, yanking the covers off. Riley shrieked at the sudden exposure to the cold air, and she groaned before curling into a ball against her pillows. "It's so cold," she whined. "You know, you shouldn't be treating the birthday girl like this."

"If it was the weekend I would be nicer, but breakfast is in half an hour so we need to hurry this thing up," Maya said, grabbing Riley and pulling her off the bed and onto her feet. Riley sighed, before picking her quilt up from the floor and wrapping herself up. "Much better."

"Do you like it?" Smackle asked, pointing to the piñata. Riley scrunched up her eyebrows. "Still don't know what it is. I'm too sleepy for this."

"It's a pomelo," Lucas said with amusement. Riley turned to him, blinking. And then her face lit up, and her eyes grew wide with delight. "Pomelo! Pomelo, pomelo, pomelo! I love that word, it's so cute!"

She whipped her head around to look at the piñata. Maya had designed it to look like a slice had been taken out, revealing the pinkish flesh inside. "Oh, it's adorable!" Riley squealed, gingerly clutching the pomelo and turning it around, her blanket falling to the floor. "How did you know I loved pomelos?"

"I mean, it couldn't have possibly been because you've repeated the word 'pomelo' thirty times a day in the past three weeks," Farkle drawled sarcastically. Riley gave him a gentle whack in the head. "Your sarcasm is not appreciated this fine morning, Farkle."

"Hey, my name is on your cute word list. Be nice to me before I change it," Farkle threatened jokingly.

"Alrighty Riley, take your shot," Zay said, handing Riley a baseball bat. Riley took it carefully. She never dealt well with dangerous things. Except maybe Lucas.

As she swung the bat back, everyone scrambled away. Knowing Riley, they had to be prepared for the bat to smash the window. Or worse, their faces.

Riley let out a guttural shriek before swinging the bat. It missed the pomelo and Riley's arms bent clumsily as the momentum carried the bat back over her shoulder. The rest held their breaths.

Riley swung another time, and the bat smashed into the pomelo, breaking it straight off of the rope and sending it flying across the room.

"Okay then!" Zay hollered as he dove to the floor, the pomelo soaring over his head and hitting the wall with a crack. The candy and quirky little objects they had put inside spilled onto the floor next to Zay.

" _Yeahhhh_!" Riley screamed wildly, throwing the bat down and pumping her fists in victory. "I actually hit it!"

"What a miracle," Maya breathed, laughing as Zay got up from the floor.

"I have to admit, that was pretty impressive," Lucas chuckled, fondly admiring Riley as she danced quirkily in the middle of her room.

"Man, I wanted to have a go," Zay sighed, looking down at the smashed pomelo.

"Who cares, now we get to eat the candy," Farkle said, bending down to pick the candy and other treats up. He tossed one to Smackle, and another to Maya.

The friends sat there, eating Riley's birthday candy and laughing as Riley opened their presents one by one.

"Farkle, oh my God," Riley gasped, pulling out a pretty, shiny dome device. "What is it?"

"Let me show you." Farkle gently took the device from her hand, switching it on. Immediately, beams of intense light shone from it, casting colours and shapes onto the walls and the ceiling. Everything around them was light blue and occasionally splashed with white. They realised that it was the sky and the clouds.

"Woah, it feels like we're sitting on the clouds!" Maya said in awe. The colours were so rich and vibrant, it was almost real.

Farkle pushed a button, and the scene changed to a starry night sky.

The friends let out a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs'. "Man, that is really cool Farkle," Lucas breathed, already beginning to feel extremely insecure and anxious about his own gift.

Maya had given Riley yet another beautiful painting. This time it was a painting of the Matthews.

"Oh peaches," Riley whispered, gently taking the canvas as she admired the painting. It was the Matthews piled on top of each other, with Cory on the bottom and Auggie on top. They all looked so happy. And the colours were vibrant and bright.

"It's wonderful," Riley gushed. "Thank you."

Maya just smiled as the two hugged.

Smackle had gotten Riley some new boots and a scarf. Zay got Riley a shirt that said "Yay!"

"Thanks Zay," Riley laughed as she took the shirt. Zay shrugged as he smiled. "It reminded me of you."

Lucas had deliberately let everyone else go first. He was nervous about giving his present, and he wasn't even sure why. It had never been a problem over the past few years. Heck, he had even jokingly given her chocolates and flowers on Valentine's Day.

Come to think about it, perhaps it wasn't really a joke now that he thought about it. But that was besides the point.

Lucas had never felt more nervous. The urge to make her happy and satisfied with his present was there, and he was worried that it would seem lame in comparison to the rest's.

As Riley turned to him, he gathered all his courage and handed her the box. She smiled, and took it from his hands.

"It's probably some weird Texas stuff," Maya said casually. "A hat, maybe some boots."

"I'd like to see you find those things in JASPA Village," Lucas retorted.

Riley opened the box, and Lucas could hear his heart pounding.

There was a silence as Riley stared into the box. Everyone stared at her.

"Great, Ranger Rick proposed to her," Maya muttered. "Way to go Ranger Rick!"

And suddenly a grin spread across Riley's face, and she burst out laughing. Lucas felt his heart lift.

Riley pulled a bracelets out of the box. There were three charms. A ballet shoe, a crown, and the sun. Riley examined it in amusement, before laughing again.

"I don't get it," Farkle murmured.

"Neither do I," Zay said, turning to Lucas with confusion.

Lucas was grinning, and laughed along with Riley as she turned to him.

"That's a good one, Luke," Riley giggled. "But I told you not to call me that."

"Technically I'm not calling you anything," Lucas pointed out with a smirk. "That will just constantly remind you of it without me having to say anything."

"Oh, it's Princess Dancing Sunshine," Maya finally realised. She raised her eyebrows at Lucas. "Not bad, Ranger Rick. Pretty clever."

"That's so two years ago," Farkle laughed.

"That's exactly what I said when she called me Maddog before the final tourney game."

"Just you wait, Lucas Friar," Riley warned. "One day I'm going to send a rabid poodle after you, and then you'll know."

"Hey, you started it!"

"Fair enough." Riley smiled, slipping the bracelet on. "Thank you Lucas. I love it."

Lucas smiled, and he felt the familiar warmth spread from his heart.

"Congratulations to Ranger Rick for getting his present to second place on Riley's Favourite Jewelry list. Championed only by our friendship ring, of course," Maya said before standing up. She pulled Riley off of the floor.

"Let's go get some waffles," Zay said excitedly.

"Let's put some pomelo on top of Riley's," Smackle suggested.

Riley laughed. "I think that's enough pomelo for today."

The six trooped out of Riley's room, laughing and joking as people wished Riley a happy birthday in the hallways.

By the time Riley made it to the dining hall, she had several new presents, including gifts from her uncle and Charlie. She had gotten a lot of 'Happy Birthday!'s. And she already knew that this was going to be the best birthday yet.

* * *

Three weeks later, Lucas was hiding underneath his covers, smiling widely as Riley stood over his bed.

"Lucas Friar, get out of bed before I smash your beloved trophies with your tourney stick!"

Lucas dramatically flipped the covers open, stretching as he let out a strangled cry. "What a little monster you are. Riley Godzilla Matthews. Yeah, that's a good name."

He was replied with a sweater to the face. As he pulled it off, he saw that Riley was rummaging through his closet. She pulled a pair of jeans out and tossed it to him.

"Why is this always such a big deal again?" Lucas groaned as he flopped back down onto his pillow and closed his eyes.

He could practically feel her glare burning through his face. "You, Lucas Tristan Friar, knowing perfectly well what day it is today and you know perfectly well how much it means so me so stop playing dumb!"

She emphasised her point by grabbing the collar of his shirt and attempting to pull him up. Lucas burst out laughing the moment her fingers twisted into his shirt. "Riles, we both know perfectly well that you aren't strong enough for this."

"Oh yeah?" Riley challenged, grunting as she yanked on his shirt. Lucas did not budge. "You're just going to tear my shirt."

Riley continued pulling, but when his shirt failed, she attempted to pull him up by the shoulders. Lucas just laughed at her futile efforts.

"Stop laughing you idiot," Riley said through grit teeth as she used all the strength she could to pull him up.

Suddenly her foot slipped. She didn't even know how, because the floor was carpeted. And then Riley shrieked as she lost her footing and collapsed on top of Lucas.

Lucas was beyond himself, laughing madly even though Riley's elbow had jabbed into his arm.

At that moment the door clicked open.

"Well if you guys wanna get all frisky with each other at least warn me!" Maya exclaimed.

Riley froze, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she scrambled to roll off of Lucas. But she got tangled up in his covers, and it took her a while before she clumsily managed to free herself and collapsed next to Lucas.

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped with annoyance as she shoved Lucas in the side, only making him laugh harder. Her lips quivered with the urge to laugh as well. She was trying to ignore the fact that her heart was racing.

"You guys are a mess," Maya remarked with amusement as she folded her arms. "C'mon, get out of bed. Riley, our parents are arriving in fifteen minutes."

"That's what I've been saying! I'm already ready," Riley huffed as she sat up and jumped out of bed. She pointed a finger at Lucas, who was still calming down from his fit. "It's him who's taking forever."

"Okay, okay, I'll get out of bed," Lucas chuckled. "Get out so I can change."

"I'm giving you three minutes, Lucas Friar," Riley said firmly as she and Maya headed for the door.

"Seriously?"

"Yes," Riley said as she grabbed the doorknob to close the door. "And I'll be counting. If you're not done in three minutes, I really will smash all your trophies. Starting, now!"

Lucas hurriedly grabbed the clothes Riley had tossed out and dashed into the bathroom, muttering under his breath.

"That girl will be the death of me," he mumbled as he splashed his face and grabbed his toothbrush. He smiled and shook his head.

"You know Riles, those trophies don't mean anything to him," Maya mentioned as the two girls waited outside Lucas' room. Riley smiled and dug the toe of her boot into the carpeted floor. "I know."

"Then why are you using it as a threat?" Maya laughed breathily. Riley shrugged. "Don't have to. I could have used any threat."

"Because you know he'll do it anyway," Maya finished with a knowing smile. She laughed. "That boy really is head over heels for you."

Riley froze. "I meant it was because he's my best friend and he'd do anything for his best friend. Not because he likes me," she sputtered, face reddening.

"Hey, _I'm_ your best friend!" Maya slung an arm over Riley's shoulders, resisting the urge to laugh.

"You're my _bestest_ friend," Riley corrected with a grin.

"That's better."

They heard a crash and a groan from inside Lucas' room. Riley glanced at her watch. "Five. Four. Three. Two-"

The door flew open, and Lucas stumbled out, his hair messy and his sweater rumpled.

"One." Riley grinned.

Maya laughed as she eyed his left boot, which had its laces untied. "Way to go Huckleberry."

Lucas rolled his eyes as he bent down to tie his laces. At that moment, Farkle, Zay and Smackle stepped out into the corridor and joined their friends.

"What's good guys?" Zay greeted cheerfully. "Woah Lucas, you're a mess."

"So I've heard," Lucas deadpanned.

"Let's go, the buses are already arriving!" Smackle exclaimed. They all rushed to the window where she was standing, and sure enough, big black buses were pulling into the main entrance at the main building.

They all rushed down the corridor and down the stairs, dashing into the corridor that connected the main building and the dorms.

They made it to the entrance, which was crowded with students. Parents were already alighting from the buses, and students rushed into their waiting arms.

Suddenly everyone was heading off in different directions. When Riley turned, Smackle, Zay and Farkle had already disappeared, and she barely managed to keep up with Lucas and Maya as they squeezed through the crowd.

"Mom!" Maya suddenly yelled, hurrying through the students and parents. Riley and Lucas rushed after her.

The three stopped in their tracks as Maya's mother came into clear sight.

"No way," Maya murmured.

Riley and Maya stood there, mouths open.

"Hey Riles, remember the day we realised that we were both from New York?"

"Uh huh."

"Remember when you joked that my mom could get together with your Uncle Shawn?"

"Uh huh."

"Remember when my mom told us that they were dating last year because your parents set them up."

"Uh huh."

"Well holy shit."

Katy Hart stood there, craning her neck as she looked for her daughter. And next to her, was Shawn Hunter. He looked nervous, to say in the least.

"Well don't just stand here, go to her!" Lucas said, shoving both the girls forward.

"Baby girl!" Katy squealed as she spotted Maya, running forward and trapping her daughter in a tight embrace.

"Mom," Maya squeaked, still stunned.

"Oh Maya, I've missed you so much," her mother sighed, pulling back with a huge smile. "I have so much to tell you."

"No kidding!" Maya exclaimed as she looked behind her mother's shoulder at Shawn. She looked her mother in the eye. "Mom, you and Shawn got-"

"-Married!" Katy finished happily. She turned and beckoned Shawn to come over.

Maya gulped, and Riley found her way next to her, linking her arm with hers.

Shawn stood next to Katy, staring at Maya and Riley blankly.

The two girls stared back at him. "H-hi, Uncle Shawn," Riley greeted tentatively.

"Riley. Is that really you?"

Riley nodded, a smile spreading over her face. "Did they restore your memory when you two got married? Do you remember me?"

"Of course I remember you. I held you after you were born. The last time I remember seeing you was when you were three," Shawn said. "Man, I got a shock when your parents told me all about you."

He turned to Maya. "You must be Maya," he said, slowly grinning. "I do hope this isn't a shock to you."

"Are you kidding, she's been waiting for this since forever-"

Maya elbowed Riley, smiling widely. "I've heard a lot about you, Shawn. From Mr and Mrs Matthews, from Mom… I never really met you, but I figured you were okay in my books."

Riley cut in. "More than okay, actually. She adores you to bits-"

Riley winced as Maya elbowed her again.

Shawn and Katy smiled at each other nervously. Katy turned to her daughter. "Do… do you approve?"

"Does the sky have stars? Of course I approve!" Maya exclaimed, letting all her excitement run free. She rushed forward to hug her mother and then Shawn. "I'm very happy for the both of you. And I'm glad I get to have two parents visiting me now," she said with a grin.

"You have Cory and Topanga to thank," Katy said warmly.

"Speaking of my parents, where are they?" Riley said, tiptoeing to look at the bus behind Katy and Shawn.

Suddenly Katy looked rather uncomfortable, and she exchanged glances with Shawn.

"Oh my god," Lucas suddenly breathed. Riley turned behind to look at him, and followed his gaze to another bus.

A woman was stepping off the bus. Riley blinked at her. She had deep brown hair, but something about her was familiar. Her eyes. They were bright and very green. Riley glanced at Lucas again. And suddenly Riley knew who she was.

"Riley," Katy began, and Riley whipped her head around to face her again.

She felt Maya tense up next to her.

"Riley, honey, your parents can't make it this Christmas."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know, I took forever to update this. I've been super busy :( Really sorry.**

 **Guess there's no Matthews family for this chapter... Poor Riley.** **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I made it extra long since I haven't updated in a while.**

 **Till next time :)**

 **-malenburke**


	13. Chapter 12: Warmth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Warmth**

Riley blinked. "What?"

"Auggie. He got into an accident last night. He's fine, but your parents had to stay with him. They asked me to give this to you."

Riley was still staring at Katy as she bent down to pick up a big box. She heard her heart pounding in her chest, and she vaguely heard the distant chatter of kids with their parents. The world around her was numb. She felt Maya's grip on her arm tighten.

Her parents weren't coming.

And she wouldn't see them for another year.

"I'm sorry sweetie," Katy said sympathetically as she gently placed the box in Riley's arms. "It wasn't easy for them, but they had no choice."

Everything came crashing back down to Riley, and reality sunk in. By the time she saw her parents again, it would have been two years since she last saw them. She felt an oncoming wave of disappointment, and sadness, but first came worry.

She snapped out of her trance, pushing her feelings of disappointment away. "Is Auggie alright?" she asked panickingly. Images of her brother lying in a hospital flashed through her mind. His frail, small frame fighting to stay alive.

"He was hit by a car that couldn't stop in time," Katy said. "Luckily the car wasn't going at full speed. Your brother has several broken bones, but he's stable for now."

Riley felt some relief seep in. She forced a smile, swallowing the painful lump in her throat. "That's great. I understand. I'll just… write my parents a letter."

Riley let her gaze drop to the ground, praying that no one would notice how upset she was. She fought the tears hard. She was too old now to cry over this. It wasn't as though she would never see her parents again. There was always next year.

She blinked her tears away and smiled up at everyone. Katy and Shawn gave her concerned and uncertain looks.

"Well I'll be darned, is that Huckleberry's mother?" Maya exclaimed loudly.

 _Lucas._

Riley spun around, eyes searching for Lucas. In the back of her mind she knew Maya was trying to distract her for the moment, but she didn't care.

Her eyes landed on Lucas, who was pale with astonishment as his mother searched for him.

"Lucas!" Riley called out, dashing over to him.

"Riley!" she heard Maya call out, but her voice was soon lost in the sea of faces.

"Luke!" Riley yelled, squeezing her way through the crowd as she made her way to Lucas.

"Hey," she said softly as she finally reached him. She had never seen him so... scared.

"We need to go," he said lowly, his voice shaking.

"Lucas, I know it's your mo-"

"We need to go now," he hissed. Without warning, he firmly grabbed Riley's hand, tugging her along with him.

Riley's heart could have leaped straight out of her chest and into the ocean at that very moment.

As his warm hand pressed against her small one, Riley felt electricity running through her veins.

"Luke!" Riley exclaimed as he gently, but hurriedly, pulled her along.

"She's not supposed to be here, Riley," he said, eyes fixed on the open doors of the entrance.

"She never shows up." Snow crunched under their boots.

They entered the main building, and Lucas pulled Riley down a right corridor.

"Lucas, she's your mother," Riley sighed, stumbling after him. "You need to talk to her."

Lucas scoffed. "After she doesn't visit for five years, sending nothing more than money and a card? No way in hell."

"Lucas!" Riley exclaimed. She came to a stop, firmly grasping his hand.

Lucas jerked to a halt, spinning around to face Riley as she yanked him back.

He was pulled to her, face to face, and they stared into each others' eyes.

"Lucas," Riley began softly.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows, clearly torn. And hurt.

"She came alone, Riles," he murmured. "You know what Zay's folks told me last year, don't you?"

Riley gazed at him sadly. "That your parents... weren't getting along so well."

Lucas pursed his lips. "I'll bet you the world they've split. I always saw it coming. I just...can't believe it actually happened."

He looked down, and he clenched a fist as he ran the other hand through his hair.

"Luke…"

"I just- I don't understand why they even married each other. Is it so hard to just _get along_?" he said through grit teeth.

Riley's soft hands took his fist. It was then that Lucas realised his hands were glowing.

He felt a stab of guilt, and immediately the red glow faded. Riley gently unclenched his fingers.

"Hey."

He lifted his head up, and Riley looked straight into his green eyes.

"It will all be okay. I know it's hard. But you can't run away from her. Talk to her," she said, before she smiled reassuringly. "And I'll be right next to you."

"Thanks." Lucas held her gaze. Riley saw a flash of realisation swim across his eyes.

"Your parents didn't come, did they?" he murmured.

Riley dropped her gaze, forcing a smile as she shook her head. "It's fine. Auggie got into an accident. I'm fine."

She looked up to see Lucas still looking at her with sadness.

"I'll be fine, Luke."

"You sure?"

"With you I will be." Riley smiled wider. "Let's go."

Lucas smiled softly. Side by side, the two headed back out to the entrance.

By now most of the parents and students had gone back in, but there were a few families scattered about. Maya, Katy and Shawn were nowhere to be found.

Lucas stopped at the doors, his steely gaze landing on his mother. Riley peered at the woman with his green eyes. She was standing alone, looking around.

Riley felt Lucas tense up next to her. Slowly, she linked her arm with his, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Lucas looked down at Riley. She smiled. "You can do this."

Taking a deep breath, Lucas headed for his mother, with Riley on his arm.

* * *

Normally Maya never left her mother's side during the Reunion Party.

This time, however, it was different.

After an hour and a half of conversation and food with her mother and Shawn, Maya decided that Riley's no-show was awfully suspicious. Her mother would be fine.

Maya made her way through the families gathered in the dining hall. The tables had been pushed to the side, and in the open space in the middle, parents were mingling with their children and other parents. The entire space buzzed with conversation.

"Where the hell is she?" Maya muttered. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Lucas either. She briefly smirked at the thought that the two were alone with each other.

It didn't last long, because she ran into Lucas.

"Have you seen Riley?" they asked in unison.

"I dunno, I'm asking you," Maya said.

"And I'm asking you." Lucas raised an eyebrow.

Maya cocked her hip. "You're the one who dragged her off upon seeing Mother Dearest."

Lucas glared at her. "She doesn't usually come, okay? And anyway, she literally only came to pass me some money as a gift, and tell me about her divorce with my dad. She said she wanted to tell me in person. Not that I care anyway. Things are back to normal with me. She left an hour ago."

Maya briefly gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry to hear that, Huckleberry."

Lucas shrugged. "Yeah well, I think Riley's hurting a lot more than I am right now."

Maya pursed her lips. "Yeah. We need to find her. You check the main building. I'll go to the dorms."

"What if she's out in the gardens?"

"In this weather? Lucas, have you even met Riley?"

"Point taken."

So the two split up. Maya squeezed her way out of the dining hall, rounding the corner to check the library.

As she turned the corner, she ran into Josh.

They came to a stop, staring at each other.

Josh cracked a smile. "Hey Maya."

"Hey Josh."

"You enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, I am. You?"

"Parents had to leave early, so nah, not really."

Maya frowned. "Why?"

Josh shrugged. "Auggie's accident. They popped by to pass the presents and some other stuff for Riley. Where is she by the way? They wanted to see her but I couldn't find her."

"I'm looking for her right now. Has she been missing for that long?"

"I haven't seen her since Mrs Smithson's welcome address."

"Strange. I wonder where she is. I hope she's okay."

"Yeah. Must be pretty hard for her. Being unable to be with-"

"-the people you love."

Maya and Josh stared at each other. Down the hallway, the chatter from the dining hall floating out into the corridor.

Maya felt her heart ache. Riley's voice rang in the back of her mind, pushing her to tell him. She really wanted to.

She had always been fascinated by him. How cool and composed he was. How good-looking he was. How he was just nice to hang around with. How he never seemed to care who you were or where you came from. How he hung around with his cool friends, but had no problem talking to Riley's significantly 'uncool' friends.

How he hardly showed it, but they could all see how much he really cared. About Riley, about them, and about a lot of things really. How sarcastic and cheeky he could be. How good of a tourney player he was. How he laughed freely, and smiled widely. How much he believed in her.

How he made her heart feel like it was jumping twelve miles into the sky.

And then her mind flashed forward to a graduation ceremony and a black bus taking him away, out into the big world. A university with beautiful girls who would bring so much more love and happiness that he deserved than she ever could.

Her mind brought her to a time where Joshua Matthews was exploring the opportunities of the exciting big world, while she got left behind in JASPA.

And then she felt the words solidify and lodge in her throat, like a cork in a bottle.

Maya forced a smile. "I have to go. See you around, Josh."

Josh's gaze lingered on her for a few moments. He smiled. "See you around, Maya."

Maya brushed past him, hoping he couldn't see the pain in her heart written all over her face,

* * *

Lucas sighed in frustration. He had checked the entire hallway of dorms twice. He went to Riley's room four times. He even popped by Charlie's room just in case.

 _Where is she?_ , he wondered. His worry increased with each passing minute. Riley had to be within the compound, but it didn't stop him from feeling anxious.

Lucas sank onto one of the sofas in the corridor.

"Think, Lucas, think," he muttered to himself. "Where would Riley go if she was feeling sad? Somewhere to be alone? The gardens? Nah, Maya's right. It's way too cold. She's not in her room, or any of our rooms. Maybe she's walking around?"

He stared at the wall opposite him, thinking to himself. "Somewhere she could be alone-"

He paused. _Oh_.

Lucas shot up onto his feet, practically jogging to the staircase. He mentally chided himself for being so stupid.

He climbed the staircase two steps at a time, until he reached the top floor.

It was quiet, and dim. It was even a bit eerie. The rooms up here were now happily occupied by the visiting parents. Right now there was no one. They were all in the main building celebrating. Lucas shivered, pulling his coat around himself.

 _Now Zay can't call me stupid for wearing my coat indoors. It's freezing up here._

Lucas turn down the right corridor. His eyes landed on the open window.

Lucas quietly walked over to the window, praying he was right.

Sure enough, as he stuck his head out of the window, he saw her. Sitting against the wall, staring out into the distance.

Riley knew it was Lucas without looking up. She continued staring out at the dark moonlit valleys.

He slid down next to her, and they both watched the moon slip away behind the clouds, before appearing again. It was cold, and Lucas pulled his coat tighter around him.

He gave her a sideways glance. She didn't have her coat. Her breath came out in small puffs of vapour, her eyes reflecting the silver hues of the pale moon. They swirled with a strange tinge of bitterness, and disappointment.

Lucas had never seen it before.

Wordlessly, he pulled one sleeve of his oversized coat off. It had always been too big anyway. He shifted closer to her, and his left arm fell over her shoulders, along with the free half of his coat.

She leaned into him, the two sharing the warmth of Lucas' coat in the chilling air.

A few moments of silence passed.

"Maya is right. Or, she used to be."

Lucas looked down at Riley. "What do you mean?"

"You hope for things, you get disappointed," Riley repeated. "She used to believe that you know. Very strongly."

"I know. But you're not her."

They listened to the silence. There was hardly any wind, as though even the mountains and the sky, along with all the clouds and the moon, were silent. It was like they were listening.

"I'm sorry." Lucas just felt that he had to say it.

"For what?" Riley shifted and looked up at him, a gentle smile on her face. Yet her eyes reflected her sadness.

"I'm sorry that they weren't able to come this year," Lucas told her, looking down into her brown eyes. Her gaze dropped.

"It's not your fault. And there's always next year, right?"

Lucas' heart felt heavy, like a stone, as he watched Riley's face wash over with sorrow, despite the smile plastered on her face.

"You don't have to pretend with me, Riley."

He knew how much she looked forward to this week, more than anything. They all did. The one time she could see her parents. And now she would have to wait another year.

Riley looked back up at him. Tears filled her eyes.

"It's just hard, you know?" she mumbled, her voice cracking. "Growing up not being able to see your family. I had so much to tell them. And now Auggie is hurt, and I can't be there for him."

As the first tear fell, Lucas wrapped his arms around her and held her. She let the tears fall silently.

The last time he had seen her cry, it was because she had broken her arm when she fell down the stairs three years ago. She was shrieking, wailing at the pain. But her healing had lessened her pain within seconds, and Mrs Reed had her patched up in minutes, so it never lasted.

And physical pain was never quite like emotional pain. Riley was wrong when she said nothing could hurt her.

Lucas hated this. He hated seeing Riley so heartbroken. He hated seeing her upset. She was Riley Matthews, puppies and rainbows, optimist and bringer of hope.

She was Riley Matthews, crying into his sweater.

So he held her in his arms gently, pulling her closer to him as her happy facade faded like the sunset. Even his sunshine had to flicker out at one point.

* * *

 **Hey guys, this chapter is a bit short, but I really wanted to put this out because I was on a bit of a writing spree ahaha. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Till next time :)**

 **-malenburke**


	14. Chapter 13: Mistletoe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Mistletoe**

The rest of Christmas Week was eventful, to say in the least.

With Shawn and Katy together, Maya spent the entire week catching up with them and discussing plans for when she got out of the academy. Shawn and Katy were going to buy a new house, and promised to prepare a room for Maya when she returned.

Riley watched all of this with a smile. Usually the roles were reversed. Riley would spend all week catching up with her parents, and Maya would watch her since Katy usually only stayed for a night or two. She couldn't afford to miss a week of work.

That wasn't to say that Riley wasn't insanely happy for her best friend. Seeing Maya so happy after so long almost made up for the emptiness she felt without her parents.

But there were days where Riley felt out of place among the Hart (or Hunter) family, and she knew that Maya was always worried about her. Not to mention that she would constantly think about her own family when she was with them.

Farkle, Smackle and Zay all had parents to spend time with. Most of the students did. So for that week, Riley assured Maya that she was fine, and spent most of her time with Lucas.

It was during this time that Riley realised how Lucas must have felt for all those years, not having any family to greet. He didn't seem bothered by it though, only saying that he would feel bored with all of his friends going off to be with their parents. It wasn't as if he was ever close to his parents anyway.

Now the two had each other to keep each other company. Lucas showed Riley all the things he would do to keep himself occupied during Christmas Week.

Riley knew that Lucas had found lots of interesting things to do over the past few Christmas Weeks. He always shared them with the group anyway. She was still weirded out by the strange things he suggested doing, though.

For one, he dragged her to the library in search of the weirdest book they could find, in the deepest darkest unknown shelves. In previous years, he had found an entire comic series about a talking bunion, a book on how to make a girl fall for you with a sock, and a historical novel detailing the adventures of a toenail on the foot of a traveller in the late 1700s.

They ended up with a five-hundred-page book filled with strings of strange symbols and pictures. ("How is this strange, Lucas?" "These symbols look like vegetables. See, potato, carrot, eggplant.") And stomach pains from laughing too hard and trying to control it so that the librarian wouldn't kill them.

Then Lucas had dragged Riley out into the Outer Garden to see a plant that he discovered a while back, which only bloomed in winter. Riley sighed the whole way, complaining about the cold. It quickly faded when she saw the small flower tucked away behind a big oak. "Must've been the result of a kid with flora and fauna control or something," Lucas had told her. She found the flower to be beautiful, with its frail pale pink petals quivering in the cold wind.

"Isn't it great how it blooms in the cold? When times are hard, we should bloom like this flower, instead of shrivelling up," Riley had said in awe, an adoring smile on her face. Lucas rolled his eyes, though he had a fond smile on his face.

"It's a plant, not a fortune cookie message for loonies like you."

He got a faceful of snow for that. Which then led to a full out snowball fight, ending with them collapsing in a fit of laughter after Riley was toppled backwards by a snowball to the face.

That fun day led to a sledding trip on the next. Though it was cold, Riley could have spent all day out there with Lucas. As the two were sitting beneath the big oak, Lucas' sled sitting in the snow next to them, he turned to her, watching with amusement as she pulled her knees closer to her chest and shivered.

"I told you to bring a warmer coat."

"This is the warmest I have!"

"It's obvious that you rarely spend time out in the cold."

"Wow Luke, for someone who has known me literally since you first came into this school, you really don't know me at all do you?"

He laughed, shaking his head. His hands moved up to the buttons of his coat.

"Don't even think about it."

"Riley, you're shivering like crazy."

"My powers will handle any frostbite problems."

"I'm pretty sure mine are more suited for keeping us warm."

"I'm sure."

"I'd rather not use them."

"Lucas Friar, if you take off your coat I swear I will…"

Lucas laughed. "You'll what?"

Riley stumbled, at a loss of what exactly to threaten him with. "I'll… I'll never share my food with you again!"

Lucas grinned. "What a tragedy." He laughed again when Riley gave him a glare. "I'd be devastated if you stopped sharing your food with me though. Really."

Riley smiled, wondering what he meant by that.

"So, do you regret coming out here? Oh, for the love of God, just let me give you my coat Riles. You're beginning to look like a human popsicle."

Riley let out a breathy laugh, teeth still chattering. "No. I don't regret it. It was wonderful."

She glanced to the side, catching Lucas' smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. But since you're apparently ready to let yourself freeze before I do, let's head back inside."

Nonetheless, Riley pretty much got rid of her fear of the cold after that day.

Besides that, the two spent hours hanging around in either one of their rooms, looking through old photos, or watching movies, or just talking. Just being together. Lucas even looked through the pictures that Mr and Mrs Matthews had sent Riley together with her.

It was one of those days. It was in the afternoon, and Maya had gone to JASPA Village with Katy and Shawn. The academy was quiet, as most of the families decided to spend their time in the Village.

Riley was sprawled on her bed, her head at the foot of the bed. She was reading _To Kill A Mockingbird_.

Lucas leaned against the foot of her bed, using his laptop. He was working on an essay he was doing for extra credit. He always made use of Christmas Break to do it.

They were also playing some music. Riley perked up as the familiar voice of Owl City came on.

 _I saw a ghost on the stairs,  
And sheets on the tables and chairs,  
The silverware swam with the sharks in the sink,  
Even so, I don't know, what to think._

"I've been longing for, daisies to push through the floor," Riley sang along, rolling her head side to side in rhythm. "And I wish that plant life would grow all around me,  
So I won't feel dead anymore. So I won't feel dead anymore."

"Remind me why you like Owl City so much again?" Lucas asked, still focused on his essay.

"Because his songs are wonderful and magical and make me happy," Riley answered cheerily, dropping her book next to her and rolling onto her stomach. She propped her head on her hands, watching Lucas typing away.

"What's so appealing about Of Monsters And Men?" she asked him. He turned his head to smile up at her, before turning back to his essay.

"I just really like their music. I like the lyrics."

"I still can't believe you're not a total country music freak."

"Riley, we've been over this," Lucas chuckled. "I've been away from Texas for five years. And even back then, I wasn't a huge fan of it. I like it, sure, but I'm not obsessed with it. You can go ahead and join Maya with her Texas stereotyping."

"I'm just kidding!" Riley exclaimed, smiling and humming along to the music playing from her stereo. "Ooh, I love this part!"

 _Your spirit is sweet, so pull off your sheet,  
And give me a ghost of a smile,  
Show me your teeth, 'cause you're teddy beneath,  
So just grin and bear it a while.  
Just grin and bear it a while._

"Do you hear that pun? It's brilliant!" Riley exclaimed, before taking a deep breath.

"I'd rather waltz than just walk through the forest. The trees keep the tempo and they sway in time. Quartet of crickets chime in for the chorus. If I were to pluck on your heartstrings would you strum on mine?"

Lucas couldn't help his smile as she sang along happily. "Da da da, da da da, da da da, da da da…" He bobbed his head side to side, enjoying the music with her. Soon she was belting the lyrics out loudly, rolling around on the bed.

It was moments like these that Lucas really cherished. Being alone with a good friend, with her, enjoying simple things like music and each other's company.

The entire week had been filled with moments like these. Lucas couldn't remember a better Christmas Week.

* * *

"Alright, Riley Matthews. I have spent all week with my parents, and as much as I love them, this distance between you and me is going to kill me."

Riley smiled, eyes still closed as Maya burst into her room. She opened them and rolled over to look at Maya, who was standing at the foot of her bed, already dressed.

"We are going to spend all day preparing for tonight's party," Maya declared. "Just you, me, a trip to the Village and lots of dresses."

"You're just saying that because you haven't finished your Christmas shopping," Riley mused sleepily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Maya scoffed. "I actually do want to spend time with you, you know. You've been hanging with Ranger Rick all week! I want my best friend back."

Riley smiled. "I'd love to. It's going to be fantastic!"

Maya morphed into Lucas. "Unless of course, you'd rather hang out with me, the handsome, charming, sappy Ranger Rick, here to sweep you off of your feet and away from Maya!"

Even though it was her best friend, Riley couldn't help but feel tingles at the mere sight of him. She brushed it off. "Maya, I get it. You're all jealous. We can make up for it today, okay?"

Maya laughed, turning back to her normal self. "I'm just playing. Now come on, we have some shopping to do."

* * *

Riley always loved going to the Village. It was bustling with people running the shops and restaurants. Many of them didn't even have powers like most of the students and staff of JASPA. They were just ordinary folk, specially invited by the government to work there. If they ever decided to quit, their memories would simply be erased.

She sat across Maya by a window in their favourite café, a steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of her. Next to them were several bags full of gifts and clothes.

"Peaches, that dress is going to look absolutely wonderful on you later!" Riley gushed excitedly.

Maya grinned. "Thanks Riles. What are you going to wear? You didn't pick out a dress."

Riley shrugged. "I have one back at the dorm."

"That purple one we saw earlier was beautiful," Maya said, sipping at her own hot chocolate. "It would have looked great on you."

"It was a bit fancier than needed for a Christmas party," Riley said, cupping her hands around her mug. "More of a prom type of thing. It really was amazing though."

Maya smiled as Riley let out a wistful sigh. "No matter, you're gonna look great tonight anyway."

Riley looked out at the gentle snow that fell upon the Village. She smiled as she saw several of her classmates walk past, chatting excitedly.

"So," Maya began, putting her mug down, "what else have you and Huckleberry been up to? Other than all that weird stuff and the snow trips, which I still don't believe by the way."

"Nothing much," Riley said lightly. "Spent lots of time in our rooms, just talking and doing stuff."

"Ooh, you two were alone in your rooms?" Maya teased. Riley rolled her eyes. "Let's not go there, Maya."

"I know you like him, Riles," Maya said, leaning back and sipping from her mug. "Don't try to deny it. You should tell him."

"I don't know if I like him, okay?" Riley sighed. She wasn't even going to try to deny it. Maya knew her better than anyone, and quite frankly she didn't feel like fighting it either. "I'm not sure of what I feel."

"Well, if you don't then I do," Maya said firmly. "I see the way you look at him. Even you're not dumb enough to just pass it off as friendly love. You should tell him."

Riley shook her head. "What if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Maya laughed. "God, the both of you are ridiculous. You're like two dummies cut out from the same stupid block."

"Hey! That's not nice."

"He feels the same, Riles," Maya assured her. "I don't see why you two are taking so long."

"It shouldn't be rushed," Riley said simply.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Right, because taking _years_ to get together is totally rushed."

"Lucas and I… We have a great thing going on," Riley said seriously. "He means a lot to me. I don't want a relationship to ruin that. What if it breaks what we have, and then when we graduate we'll just disappear from each other's lives?"

"Riles, you need to stop overthinking," Maya sighed exasperatedly. "Both of you do. You're practically made for each other, Riles. It's more than just a bond that can be easily broken and destroyed."

Riley pursed her lips, before placing her empty mug down. "Maybe."

She grabbed her bags, and stood up. "Now c'mon, we have a party to get ready for."

* * *

Riley was tingling with excitement as she sat on her bed, ready to go. Maya twirled around in front of her, a big smile on her face.

"Peaches, you look beautiful," Riley gushed, admiring how stunning Maya looked in the knee length blue dress she was wearing. It had capped sleeves made of lace, and Maya's hair was in a simple but beautiful relaxed fishtail braid.

"Thanks Riles," Maya smiled. Riley was in a V-neck coral dress made of chiffon, her hair let down with a headband braid. Both girls had kept their makeup relatively simple. "You look gorgeous. Ranger Rick is going to love it."

Riley tossed a pillow at her.

"Hey, watch it!" Maya gasped. "Don't wanna ruin the look."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Maya glanced at it, before turning to Riley with a knowing grin. "Ah, there's our favourite cowboy right now!"

Immediately after the knock, the door swung open to reveal Lucas standing at the doorway. Underneath his coat, he was in a simple dark button down, and khaki pants.

He blinked for a moment as his eyes landed on Riley.

"Hey Ranger Rick," Maya greeted, trying to stifle her laughter.

Lucas snapped out of it. "Hey guys. You ready?"

"Of course!" Riley chirped, getting to her feet. She resisted the urge to toss her purse at Maya. "Let's go."

As they all stepped out and Riley closed the door, Maya spoke. "Wow Ranger Rick, you don't look too bad! I actually expected a cowboy hat though."

"Ha, ha," Lucas deadpanned. "But I could say the same about both of you. You look great."

Riley smiled. "Thanks Luke."

It wasn't long before they were joined by Farkle, Smackle and Zay. "Let's get this Christmas fun started!" Zay exclaimed cheerfully.

Everyone loved the Christmas Eve Party. It was always full of food, fun, warmth and laughter. During the two days spanning Christmas Eve and Christmas, the students of JASPA always felt like normal kids. Like people who hadn't missed out on anything at all.

Three hours later, the gang sat in a corner of the dining hall, which had been redecorated for the party. A space had been cleared in the middle, and people were dancing and laughing, having a good time. The tables and benches had been moved to the side, and several sofas and armchairs had been moved in. Along one wall was a buffet of food, and in one corner stood a tall Christmas tree.

"Man, this cake is good," Zay groaned. "Christmas Week is the best."

"It really is," Riley agreed, looking around at all the happy parents, students and staff. She felt a twinge of sadness as her parents flashed through her mind, but she brushed it off.

She had spotted her uncle earlier, looking handsome as usual. She had passed him his present, wondering if it was the right time to ask about Maya. He was probably off somewhere with his own friends by now, but Riley saw the way that he stared when Maya had entered. It pleased her.

"Looks like our parents are having a great time talking," Farkle said to Smackle, watching the four adults engaged in conversation, probably about their gifted children.

"They must be talking about how brilliant I am," Smackle said, and Maya laughed.

"Please, I'm the genius here," Farkle retorted.

They were interrupted as Brendon Pond made his way through the crowd, dangling a piece of mistletoe from a stick. Some people shrieked and scrambled away laughing, as he teasingly swung it about. Some of the parents played along as he hovered it over their heads, and everyone was laughing.

"Well, time to hightail out of here unless we wanna end up kissing each other," Lucas joked. His eyes flickered to Riley, but he missed the moment when her eyes flickered to him.

The friend got up, making their way through the crowd and away from Brendon Pond.

Soon, Mrs Smithson announced the opening of presents, and people opened gifts all around the room.

Riley gasped at Maya's present. "Maya! When did you get this?"

Maya grinned as Riley adoringly ran her hand over the beautiful purple dress they had seen earlier. "I got Farkle to pick it up for me real quick. Do you like it?"

Riley grinned widely, nodding her head. Maya chuckled. "Of course you do."

"I could be playing in the winter snow, but Imma be under the mistletoe," came Brendon's singing voice, grinning widely as he dangled the mistletoe around. There were some cheers as two 11th grade students kissed.

"I'm gonna go find my parents," Maya told Riley. "I'll be right back."

"Sure thing," Riley said warmly, putting the dress away. Maya slipped away into the crowd.

"Merry Christmas, Riles."

Riley turned around at his voice, and couldn't help the smile on her face. Lucas stood in front of her, grinning widely with a small flat box in his hands.

"Wait, I wanna give you mine first," Riley quickly said, passing her box to him. He raised an eyebrow, placing his gift for her down and unwrapping hers.

His mouth fell open. "No way. You got me new mini speakers?!"

"I'm glad you like them," Riley said with a laugh. "Now you can play your weird Of Monsters And Men music as loud as you like, in better quality."

"First off, it's not weird." Riley laughed again as Lucas quirked an eyebrow at her. "Second of all, thank you."

Riley felt her heart flutter again as he pulled her into a hug, letting herself get lost in his pine scent. "You're welcome, Luke."

He pulled away, and passed her his gift. "Now it's your turn."

Riley unwrapped her gift. It was a CD. She furrowed her eyebrows. It was labeled 'Riley's Playlist'. "What's this?"

"I compiled all your favourite songs," Lucas said. Riley beamed. "Really?!"

"Yup. All of them."

"How do you even know all my favourite songs?"

"Riley, we spent the past week – and maybe the last five years – together. I know your favourite songs."

"Thank you so much," she sighed happily, squeezing him in a hug. "It must have taken a lot of time to compile."

"Hey, now we can play your favourite songs with my new speakers," Lucas said, and they both laughed.

As Riley pulled away, she smiled up at him. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Thank you, Luke."

"For what?"

Riley shrugged. "I thought I would be really lonely this Christmas Week. You didn't let that happen. I had a lot of fun with you this week. Even more than usual."

Lucas smiled warmly. "What are friends for, right?"

There was a brief pause as they just smiled at each other, soaking in the warmth of the moment.

"Lucas!"

Zay's excited voice reached their ears, and they turned curiously. Zay rushed up to them, a wide grin on his face. "Look!"

They looked over Zay's shoulder. Lucas' mouth dropped open, and Riley beamed with surprise.

Farkle and Smackle were standing together. _Kissing_.

Brendon grinned behind them, dangling the mistletoe over their heads.

"Hahaa, I knew it was gonna happen eventually!" Zay exclaimed triumphantly.

Riley and Lucas grinned. "Some Christmas Week, huh?" Lucas said with amusement.

"Yeah," Riley agreed, turning to him. "It was."

Riley thought back to what Maya had said earlier. She remembered the incident in the library, how she had almost told him how she felt about him. She wished that short bout of courage would come back, but somehow she knew that it wasn't the time.

For now she could just enjoy his company as it was, just like she had for the past week, and just like she had since she met him. It didn't matter what they were yet. For now, they were just Riley and Lucas. And she was totally fine with that.

"Merry Christmas, Lucas."

His eyes sparkled as he looked at her, the corners of his mouth turning up. "Merry Christmas, Riley."

* * *

 **HELLOOOO I AM BACK! Hurray, I uploaded this shortly after my update. I really am sorry for taking so long. I've been insanely busy, and I had a really bad writer's block. I hope that this chapter is okay for you guys! I will try to update soon, because the next few chapters get pretty exciting.**

 **Also, the song by Owl City in this chapter is called Plant Life. Whenever I hear the song, I think of Riley because the lyrics are so quirky and cute. In all honesty I'm not sure if Lucas would really enjoy Of Monsters And Men (I know I do huehue) but ah well.**

 **Till the next update :)**

 **–malenburke**


	15. Chapter 14: Midnight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World.**

 **This chapter is gonna be longer than usual! Enjoy :)**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 14: Midnight**_

The academy was quiet once again, with all the guests now gone. It was a lazy afternoon, with everyone waiting for the New Year's party that was to take place the day after.

Riley hummed as her hands hovered around a plant, chewing on a jellybean. A yellow glow radiated off of her hands, seeping into the stem, leaves and flower. It was the plant that Lucas had shown her during Christmas Week, the one that bloomed in the cold.

Someone had accidentally snapped it while trampling through the area. Unable to see it so broken, Riley took it back with her to heal it. The past few days had not been very successful, but she was trying.

"Humming may help," Ms Willows had told her when she asked for advice. "It calms whatever is being healed; people, animals, even plants."

So Riley was humming, focusing on the energy running through her fingers.

"Hey Riles, what do you think?"

Riley sighed as her concentration slipped away, and she looked up. Maya lifted her canvas from the easel to show Riley.

Streaks of white transitioned into hundreds of lines in shades of gold, red and blue, the brilliant colours exploding across the black background. Fireworks.

"That couldn't _possibly_ be because of the New Year's Party tomorrow night, could it?"

"Why of course, darling! I'm dangerously unpredictable!" Maya exclaimed dramatically, waving her brush in the air. Riley laughed.

"As predictable as your are out on the field?"

Maya paused at the statement, her smile slowly fading. Riley frowned. "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry–"

"No! No," Maya exclaimed assuredly. "It's just… I've been thinking about tourney. It's what I'm the best at, right?"

Riley tilted her head to the side, pondering the question. "Well, you are very good at it, if that's what you mean. You're a star on the field, Maya."

"But what about when we leave?" Maya asked. "There is no tourney out there, Riles. This ends when our lives here do."

"Maya, what's your point?" Riley asked quizzically.

"What if I'm not good enough for the outside?" Maya said anxiously. "What if, I have no skills that are going to help me survive when we get back there?"

"Maya, don't be ridiculous!" Riley exclaimed. "You're savvy, you're resourceful, you have good people skills."

"But none of that will matter if I have terrible grades," Maya retorted.

"Your grades are going to improve, Maya," Riley insisted. "I'll make sure of it. You still have three and a half years. And anyway, look around you! You have a talent, Maya."

Maya looked around, before her eyes landed on her painting. She glanced at Riley tentatively. "What do you think of the painting?"

Riley smiled softly. "It's beautiful, Peaches. As usual. You're getting better and better everyday."

Maya gazed at her painting, a soft smile on her face. "Yeah. Makes me think that I could be something, other than a tourney player who will have nothing left once we graduate from JASPA."

Riley shrugged. "You could be a conwoman. With your shapeshifting it would be the easiest thing in the world."

Maya stroked her chin with her fingers, smearing paint onto it by accident. "You're right…"

Riley tossed a jellybean at Maya. "You know I was kidding. You can be so much more than that. You are so much more than that."

"Well, we can't deny that I would be a fantastic conwoman though," Maya pointed out with a smirk. She got up from her chair, setting the canvas back against the easel. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked around the room.

"I have no idea where else I can put this." Every inch of the walls already had paintings hung up on them. Some canvases even had to take their places against her window or her desk. Walking into Maya's room was like walking into another world.

"You could give it to me," Riley chirped. "Or one of the rest. Maybe even to a teacher. Mrs Smithson if you wanna suck up to her."

"I am not a suck up, Riley," Maya said, strolling over and plopping down on the bed next to Riley. "That's your job."

"Hey!" Riley gasped, placing a hand on her chest in offense. "I am not a suck up. I'm just a good kid."

Maya laughed and slung her arm around Riley. "Yes, you are. And I'm a bad kid who never sucks up."

"Yeah well, you're my bad kid," Riley said fondly, leaning against Maya.

Maya was silent as her eyes swept her room. "Do you really think I could make it as an artist Riles?"

"I think you can make it as anything you want to be."

Maya smiled, nodding slowly at her paintings. "Maybe I do have a chance out there."

Riley turned to Maya. "You're going to change the world, Maya. And even if you don't, you'll always have a place with me."

Maya hummed with a warm smile, squeezing Riley. "I love our quiet afternoo-"

" _Riley! Maya!_ "

Maya sighed. "Spoke too soon."

The girls barely registered the loud yell that came from down the corridor when Zay burst in, closely followed by Lucas. Both were breathless, with the biggest smiles on their faces.

"You know, it's not polite to burst into a girl's room like that," Maya said calmly, raising an eyebrow.

Lucas grinned. "No time for formality, Maya."

"Something way more important is happening," Zay said.

" _Zay!_ "

All heads turned as Farkle burst into the room, looking flustered and panicked. "How could you do that?! How could you tell them?!"

"Tell them what?"

"That Smackle and I are together!"

" _What?!_ " Riley and Maya shrieked in unison.

"Geez, could you guys keep it down?" Yindra called out as her head popped out her door.

"What's got everyone's knickers in a twist?" Sarah added, opening her door curiously.

Farkle stared at Riley and Maya, mouth hanging open. Lucas and Zay exchanged a grin, before bursting into laughter.

"You and Smackle are what?!" Maya exclaimed, grinning widely as she hopped to her feet and walked up to Farkle. He opened and closed his mouth, unable to find the words.

"We didn't tell them anything man," Zay choked out through his laughter, slapping at his knee.

"Farkle, you and Smackle are dating?" Riley gushed excitedly. "Where is she? Smackle!" Riley popped her head out into the hallway.

"Is it over?" Smackle's mortified voice rang out from her room.

"Well, it's about damn time!" Maya said. "When did you make it official?"

"Five minutes ago!" Farkle exclaimed, looking subdued. He glanced out at the rest of their classmates curiously peeking out from their rooms. "And now the whole class knows about it."

"Please, it was gonna happen," Yindra drawled.

"I would have announced it properly if those two idiots hadn't been spying on us," Farkle huffed, glaring at Zay and Lucas.

"Hey, we just came by because we wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the Village!" Lucas explained, sobering up.

"When you weren't in your room, we checked Smackle's. IT wasn't our fault you happened to be there," Zay said with a shrug.

"Yeah, and it also wasn't your fault that you decided to stand at the door and peep through like the lousy eavesdroppers you are."

"Man, I am not a lousy eavesdropper," Zay scoffed. "Enhanced hearing, remember?"

Riley had succeeded in dragging Smackle out of her room. She shoved her into Maya's room, and pushed the rest inside. She then turned to the rest of their classmates. "Alright, show's over! We'll update you later."

With that, she closed the door behind her. Turning with a grin, she eyed her friends. "Now, we can celebrate Farkle and Smackle's getting together in peace."

"Congrats guys!" Maya said with a grin, sitting on her bed. "We're glad it finally happened."

Smackle and Farkle exchanged a look. There was a tentative pause, before Farkle smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

He stretched out his hand, and Smackle glanced at it, before taking it with a soft smile.

"Aww, look at you two. You're adorable," Riley sighed happily, flopping down next to Maya.

"Been waiting for this to happen for ages," Zay remarked. "It feels like torture when you're waiting for two people to finally get out of their dumb little shells and just get together already."

Riley felt something in the air turning into a palpable tension. Her eyes flickered to Lucas. Briefly, their eyes met, before he looked away. "Yeah."

Riley glanced down at her hands, rubbing them together awkwardly.

Maya resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Sometimes they just need to be pushed."

Riley held her breath, waiting for the moment to pass over.

"I'm glad you two didn't need so much pushing," Maya said, smiling up at Farkle and Smackle. "I'm happy for you both."

Riley felt herself relaxing again, and she smiled. "Me too."

"Well, now I know how I'm going to spend the next year," Farkle said, turning to Smackle with a fond smile. "Whoever you're with for New Year's is how you're going to spend the rest of the year."

"This has been very timely, then," Smackle grinned back at him.

As Riley watched the two, hand in hand, she couldn't stop the nagging feeling in the back of her head. Something inside her stirred, and she knew it would keep stirring restlessly until she did something about it.

Instinctively, her eyes lifted up to Lucas again. Again, he was looking at her.

This time, there was something different. She could no longer say that she wasn't blushing because it was just Lucas. She was very much feeling the familiar heat creeping onto her cheeks, and he wasn't 'just Lucas' anymore.

He had stopped being just Lucas to her a long time ago. And that realization was stronger than ever.

The two watched each other, not bothering to look away. Riley knew what he felt. She knew that he knew what she felt. Yet they were standing still, afraid to move.

She wasn't sure what she was so afraid of. All she knew was that things would change, and she didn't want anything to change. But it was too late for that now. Things had already changed. It was too late to go back now.

Maya was right. They needed pushing.

* * *

"Good job, Riley," Mr Fabray said. "I'm sure Ms Willows has been of great help you. Although, I would appreciate it if you could focus on healing humans."

Riley beamed down at the winter flower, as she had called it. She had successfully healed it, and it was good as new and ready to return to its home. "Thank you, Mr Fabray. It was bothering me. Now I can focus again."

"That's good to hear," Mr Fabray said with a nod. He turned to Lucas, who was smiling at Riley and the flower. "And you, Mr Friar? How are you progressing?"

"I'm doing good, actually, sir," Lucas said. "I'm getting better at controlling higher temperatures. I think I can accomplish this goal by the end of the week."

"Excellent. You've been working on it for almost two months now. A good way to start the new year, Mr Friar," Mr Fabray said crisply, before walking away.

"You gonna return the flower later?" Lucas turned to Riley, smiling down at the plant sitting healthily in its pot.

"Yeah. You wanna come?"

"Wouldn't miss it for anything."

Maya came up to the two.

"Guys, I need to try something."

"Sure. What do you need to try? It's not dangerous is it?" Riley asked.

"Okay, so you know how I've been working on adopting people's powers, and I said that I was having a lot of trouble with it?" Maya said.

"Yeah?"

"I think I know why," Maya continued. "I think I can only adopt other people's powers when they're using them too."

Riley and Lucas exchanged a glance, and Riley frowned as she turned back to Maya. "Really? That's not very effective then, is it?"

"No, I guess not. But it does mean that I can make use of people's powers to help them or something. If Ranger Ricks needs help toasting four slices of bread instead of two, I'm here to help," Maya said cheekily. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"So what do you need us to do?" Riley questioned.

Maya looked between the two. "There are two options here. Either Ranger Rick cuts himself twice and then both of us can try to heal him, or Ranger Rick uses his powers and I use them too."

"Neither sounds like a very good idea," Riley said, scrunching up her nose. "You could both get hurt."

"Well, we have to take risks so let's not think so much. What will it be? Cut or toasty hands?"

"I go with the cutting," Lucas said. "My powers are hard to control. I don't know if you could handle it."

"You trying to imply something, Huckleberry?"

Lucas shook his head. "Nope. Just looking out for your safety, and everyone else's safety."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Typical Lucas. Cut it is then."

"Hey now," Riley cut in, "I don't want Lucas cutting himself to be some lab rat."

"Oh please, he's not going to rip through his organs. You've healed small cuts hundreds of times. He'll be fine," Maya waved her off flippantly, before taking her army knife from her pocket.

"You carry your knife with you?" Riley hissed.

"Shh, keep it down!" Maya snapped, glancing in Mr Fabray's direction. She stretched out her hand for Lucas'. He put his hand in her palm, and with a swift draw Maya had cut into his hand lightly.

He winced slightly, before giving her the other hand for her to do the same. "Alright, now do your thing before I bleed to death," Lucas joked, stretching his hands out to both girls.

"Ready Maya?" Riley gently held his hand, closing over the wound with one palm.

Maya morphed into another Riley, and followed her actions. "Let's do it."

"Wow, this just got really weird," Lucas remarked.

A yellow glow spread from Riley's hand, and she let the energy flow gently as she watched Maya.

Maya stared at her own hands in concentration, and to their delight the same yellow glow appeared. They continued for a few more minutes, before Riley released her hands. Immediately, the power stopped flowing for Maya, and she turned back into herself.

They examined the two wounds. Riley's had sealed up a bit more cleanly, but it was obvious that it had worked for Maya too.

"Wow, this is fantastic!" Maya exclaimed excitedly. "Now we can heal you at double time if you ever take another shield to the face for me Ranger Rick!"

Lucas chuckled, wiping his hands. "Not gonna happen."

"I've already said this before, Luke. You'll do it again if you have to," Riley said teasingly. Lucas snorted.

"Alright, I'm gonna go try this out with Farkle. For the first time ever I'll feel like a genius. Thanks for your help kiddos!" With that, Maya walked off lightly.

"There's no telling what she'll be able to do now," Lucas sighed. Riley giggled. "Don't feel threatened, Luke. It will just make her more mischievous than normal. Nothing unusual."

"She's gonna be really great someday," Lucas said, smiling as Maya explained her situation to Farkle.

Riley gave him a sideways glance, smiling. "Yeah. She is."

He met her gaze. "You look like you're surprised that I could say such a thing."

"I am, actually. Pleasantly surprised."

"Yeah, me too."

"Then again, you always pleasantly surprise me, Lucas."

"Likewise."

They continued smiling at each other, before turning back to Maya, who was now shrieking with excitement at all the knowledge that was suddenly in her brain.

* * *

Riley grabbed her books from her locker, shoving them into her bag, before slamming the locker shut. She had just finished her last class for the day early, and Farkle and Zay would be ending theirs shortly. Maya, Lucas and Smackle had ended earlier, so they were already back at the dorms.

Riley leaned against her closed locker, before pulling her phone out to text Maya. Every student and staff members at JASPA had one. They were specialized, undetectable by anyone outside the campus. They worked like normal phones, though they restricted any social media accounts.

 _Waiting for Farkle and Zay. Meet u at my room?_

 _One step ahead of u. Your bed is comfy af._

Riley rolled her eyes. _Enjoy it while u can :P_

She pocketed her phone, and immediately she caught sight of Charlie walking in her direction. She suppressed an inward sigh, trying to channel her friendliness to her face.

She liked Charlie. Really, she did. She wanted nothing more than to just be his friend, like they used to be when they were younger. But she would have to deal with it for now.

She decided to be the first one to speak this time. "Hey Charlie."

Charlie smiled. "Hey Riley. Who you waiting for?"

"Farkle and Zay," Riley said with a friendly smile as he leaned up against the lockers next to her. "You?"

"Jeffrey. They're in the same class, I believe."

"Yeah."

"So, the big party tonight huh?" Charlie said. "I can't believe we'll be entering a new year already. Three more years and we'll be leaving."

"You know, all these years I wanted nothing more than to go home and see my family again," Riley murmured. "But now that it's getting closer, I'm kinda scared."

"Of what?"

Riley chewed on her lip. "The world out there, I guess. I mean, I'm excited, but I'm growing more and more unsure of who I want to be when I get out there. I don't want to leave all of you, and go our separate ways. We've all known each other for so long. We grew up together. What if things aren't how we want them to be? What if it's all worse?"

There was a pause from Charlie. "We can't stop it, Riley. None of us will ever be prepared enough for what's out there. But I do know that we can't stay cooped up in this place forever. JASPA is great, but this isn't where our lives are going to start and end. There's more for us out there, Riley. I can feel it. And maybe it's going to be scary, but at least we'll be free."

"Not completely though," Riley added. "We'll always have to carry our secrets with us. But yeah, you're right. We'll be free."

"Yeah. Free."

They stood in a comfortable silence side by side, watching students from six to eighteen years of age passing through the corridor as the bell signaled the end of lessons.

Riley couldn't help her wistful smile as she watched a group of eight year olds bouncing down a corridor, chatting excitedly. It didn't seem to long ago that she had been in their place. So many years had passed since she came here.

"Sometimes I wonder if leaving would actually mean going home," Riley said. "It's been almost ten years since we arrived here."

"JASPA is basically our home." Riley turned her head to face Charlie as he spoke. He smiled. "I know what you mean. But all birds leave their nests eventually, Riley. They need to, in order to fly."

Riley nodded with understanding, and for the first time in a very long time, she smiled at him genuinely. "Thanks, Charlie."

"No problem. We all think about it. I think about a lot of things, actually. My family, my friends, my hopes." There was something in the way that he said those words that had Riley's heart sinking. He hadn't let go yet.

"Me too," she said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Hey Riles. Thanks for waiting." She felt a wave of relief as Farkle and Zay strolled out of the classroom with Jeffrey.

"It's no biggie," she said lightly. "Let's go. Maya's waiting for me."

She walked between Farkle and Zay, trying to ignore the way she could feel Charlie's gaze burning into her back.

* * *

Riley walked through the Great Hall with Maya, trying to locate her friends. "Some party, hey?"

"Yeah, I think this is the biggest one yet," Riley agreed. Unlike the Christmas parties, the New Year parties were held in the Great Hall, where the students assembled at the start of every week and during important school ceremonies. It had a tall ceiling with crystal chandeliers, and marble walls. The floor was dark, glossy wood. One long wall was lined with tall arched glass doors, which opened out onto a large balcony. It was perfect for a ball.

In contrast to the fancy setting of the room, most of the students were in more casual wear for the night. There were no parents around, so they rarely considered New Year's Eve an event requiring formal wear.

Riley was wearing her warmest jeans and knee-length boots, with added layers beneath. She wore a soft pink sweater, keeping her makeup light and her hair back kept back with a loose half ponytail.

Maya wore a similar outfit, her leather boots and navy jacket topped off with a black fedora. It was warm and cozy, and they had left their coats on the racks near the entrance.

They found their classmates gathered in a corner, occupying several comfortable sofas by one of the fireplaces.

"Ladies!" Zay greeted them cheerfully.

Riley and Maya exchanged an amused look. "…Zay!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Farkle gasped. Zay shrugged. "You have a _lady_ now, Farkle. No need for your line anymore, so I'm taking care of it for you."

Smackle laughed as Farkle shook his head, his arm draped behind her shoulders.

"So, what's good?" Zay continued.

"We have food, friends and fire. Everything's good," Maya said with a grin, taking a seat next to Zay. Riley flopped down next to Lucas, giving him a quick smile. He smiled back, making room for her.

"I'm honestly kinda bored," Lucas admitted. "Nothing much has happened."

"The countdown will be in an hour and a half. Just be patient," Smackle said.

"Isn't there usually a dance?" Riley asked, looking around.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's your favourite, Ronald!"

"Well, there it is!" Maya said with a smile.

"As the new year approaches, we're gonna hit the night off with some good old music. So get onto the floor and have fun!"

As soon as Ronald Turnwall put the mic down, music started playing from the speakers.

 _I wanna feel your everything  
I want it more than the same routine  
We both know we've gone too far again_

"Oh my god, I love this song!" Maya shrieked. "Let's go!" She grabbed Zay by the arm, yanking him to his feet and disappearing into the crowd of students now dancing in the middle of the room.

Riley laughed, and hopped to her feet to go after them, the rest close behind her. They squeezed through the students, finding Maya and Zay bouncing to the music.

 _I wanna hear your every breath  
All your secrets laid to rest  
We both know it never has to end_

"I love We The Kings," Maya cheered, as the friends danced together. They laughed, dancing like they could be free forever.

 _'Cause we could make the same mistakes_  
 _Or we could turn and run away_

"Sprinkler in three, two, one!" Farkle yelled, and him and Maya bust into the Sprinkler dance.

"You guys can't be serious," Lucas groaned.

 _Don't let go_  
 _I'll never let you be alone_  
 _Tonight we're gonna get high or fall together_  
 _Die young or live forever_

"You got a better move, Huckleberry?" Maya challenged, laughing as she and Farkle did the sprinkler and Smackle joined in.

 _Don't let go  
I'll love you 'til our hearts go cold  
Tonight we're gonna get it high or fall together  
Die young or live forever_

"Not the goddamn Lawnmower!" Maya groaned. Riley burst into laughter as Lucas grinned at Maya, pumping his fist forward. "You asked for a better move, and you got it."

 _Young love don't mean a thing_  
 _With eyes wide we live our dreams_  
 _They don't know it's not the way it seems_  
 _We live fast until the crash_  
 _Leave here, we won't look back_  
 _They don't know, they think it's meant to last_

Zay and Riley joined Lucas in on the Lawnmower, and the six were in a mess of a silly dance move battle. They shrieked with laughter, and Maya lost it when Riley did the Cabbage Patch.

 _'Cause we could make the same mistakes_  
 _Or we could turn and run away_

"You know, these are the nights I live for!" Farkle exclaimed happily. They were surrounded by the other kids of JASPA, jumping to the beat of the song.

 _Don't let go_  
 _I'll never let you be alone_  
 _Tonight we're gonna get high or fall together_  
 _Die young or live forever_

Riley looped an arm around Lucas' neck, and the other around Maya's. Maya grabbed Farkle, who held onto Smackle, and Lucas grabbed Zay. The six grinned, and Maya let out a loud laugh as they did the can-can.

 _Don't let go  
I'll love you 'til our hearts go cold  
Tonight we're gonna get high or fall together  
Die young or live forever_

"Promise me this will never change," Riley sighed happily, kicking her foot out.

"Never!" Zay promised.

"I could do this all day," Lucas said with a grin, turning his head towards Riley. She turned to face him with a bright smile. Farkle whooped as they kicked higher, and the students around them gave them funny looks.

But it didn't matter, because as long as they all had each other, Riley felt safer than any place in the entire world. Being here, with her best friends by her side, all of them living every moment, was all she could ever ask for.

Her feelings for Lucas, Maya and Josh, the scary world outside of JASPA; she let her worries go in the moment. Whatever the new year brought, she would be okay.

They gradually stopped kicking as the song came to an end, and all the students cheered.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," Riley said. "I'll be right back." She slipped off, heading for the buffet table.

As she reached the punch, she caught sight of a familiar face. "Hey Charlie."

Charlie looked up, and his face lit up significantly. "Hey Riley. Here to get a drink?"

"Yeah. The punch is good," Riley said, trying to keep her tone light as she poured herself a cup.

There was a pause from Charlie. She glanced up at him, and he seemed to be contemplating something. "Riley, I need to say something."

Riley felt a sinking feeling in her chest, praying that it wasn't what she thought it was.

"The truth is, I still like you. A lot." Unfortunately, she was right. "And I know that you said we should just be friends, but I can't help myself. I was wondering if we could try again."

Riley took a deep breath, mulling over her answer. She briefly considered just saying yes, because she couldn't bear to hurt his feelings, but she decided that she had to end this properly.

"Charlie, look..." She steadied herself, trying not to take note of the hopeful look on his face. "I know that you still have feelings for me, but I just don't feel the same way. Don't get me wrong, Charlie, you're a wonderful, wonderful guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you. And none of this is your fault; please don't think it is. I just don't feel the same way about you."

Charlie's face faded into disappointment, and he remained quiet. Riley fought the discomfort. "You deserve better than me, Charlie. You deserve someone who can love you with their whole heart, someone who returns your feelings and can make you happier than I can. You deserve that. And you won't find it with me."

Charlie nodded slowly, smiling sadly. "I understand. It can't be helped."

Riley sighed. "I'm really sorry, Charlie."

He chuckled softly. "Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. We can still be friends, right?"

Riley smiled, feeling the huge weight being lifted off of her chest. "Of course. Thank you for understanding, Charlie."

"Thank you for being so kind about it. I'll catch you later, Riley. Enjoy your night."

Riley pulled him into a hug, catching him off guard. As she pulled away, she smile softly at his stunned face. "You too, Charlie. Let the new year be a new start for you."

He smiled back, and they exchanged one more silent look before going their separate ways. Riley returned to her friends, feeling more relaxed than she had felt in a while.

An hour later, all of them were panting and thoroughly exhausted from another round of dancing.

"I'm gonna take a breather," Farkle gasped as the song came to an end, and he stumbled back towards the couch. Smackle followed after him.

"Alright! After all that excitement, it's time to tone the night down," Ronald said with a grin. "So get on the floor, and relax!"

The gentle strumming of a guitar filled the air, and the mood mellowed down. Riley looked around, and noted that boys and girls were pairing together, swaying to the music.

It was almost comical, seeing as how everyone was in casual sweaters and boots instead of dresses and suits.

 _Sat at the lights while they change, on the dashboard I'm shaking  
I thought of you, and the boy with his head on the table  
Everything is new, everything is new_

She turned to return to her seat, deciding to sit this one out, but came face to face with Lucas. They blinked at each other for a bit, before Zay's voice caught their attention.

"Would you like to dance, my lady?" he said, dramatically offering his hand to Maya. She rolled her eyes. "What if I said no?"

"Why, I would be deeply offended my lady. I have no romantic intensions, I assure you. I simply have no one else to dance with."

"You could go dance with Lucas. You're so in love with him."

"I do believe that would be a bit odd."

Maya laughed. "Whatever. Just stop talking like that." With that, she took Zay's hand, and the two cracked jokes about each other's dancing as they moved around in circles.

 _And I know my digging  
And I know my singing too_

Riley turned back to Lucas, and they stared quietly until Lucas broke into a smile. "Wanna dance?"

Riley felt her heart fluttering wildly, and she glanced down at his hand, before slowly taking it with a shy smile. "Sure. Why not?"

 _Well I knew the girl, before she was glazed_  
 _Fried in time to the heat of your gaze_  
 _She used to speak for herself_  
 _But now she speaks for the name_

 _Everything is new, everything is new_

Lucas smiled widely, and his other hand went to her back. Riley fumbled around for a bit, unsure of where to put her other arm, before settling on his shoulder, laying her arm on top of his.

She laughed. "Sorry, I don't slow dance a lot."

He laughed back. "We used to slow dance for fun when were younger."

"Yes, but that was different. We just held both hands and swung them back and forth."

"Yeah, and you kept stepping on my toes."

Lucas winced, before glaring at Riley. She gave him a playful grin, removing her foot from his. "That was not appreciated, Ms Matthews."

"Simply reminiscing the old times, Mr Friar."

Lucas gave a breathy chuckle, smiling at her as the two swayed back and forth to the gentle music.

 _Well I know my digging_  
 _And I know my singing too_

Riley looked over Lucas' shoulder, frowning slightly as she glimpsed her uncle dancing with some leggy redhead in his year. His gaze, however, was focused on someone else. Riley didn't need to turn to know it was directed at her best friend.

"Hey, you okay?"

Riley's eyes snapped back up to Lucas. She gave him a smile, shaking her head. "Nothing," she said softly. "Just Josh over there."

Lucas gave her a sympathetic smile. "You shouldn't spend all your time worrying about them, Riles."

"I can't help it. I worry about other people all the time."

Lucas chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know."

As they danced round and round, Riley was scared to move. The moment was too precious to let go of. A year ago, she would have simply enjoyed his company. But things were moving down a path that was new and unpredictable, and Riley was carefully planning out every step.

"Relax, Riles. You're more tensed up than Maya before a game."

Riley didn't realize she had been holding her breath. She exhaled slowly, looking up at him with a smile. Even in his simple sweater and jeans, he looked captivating.

His green eyes were soft but strong, watching her with a fondness she was lovingly familiar with.

 _The fruit in the window, it never decays  
It was built to last, it was bought to stay  
By a barefoot girl, from a different age_

 _Everything is new, everything is new_

And as they swayed around, looking at nothing but each other, everything around them seemed to blur, and Riley found herself wrapped up in his warmth and the scent of fresh pines.

She wished that she had the courage to tell him. They both knew it was there. But she didn't want to change anything.

 _Well I know my digging  
And I know my singing too_

Riley barely noticed when the song ended, unable to take her gaze away from Lucas' eyes. She never wanted this to go away.

"Hey, lovebirds? Song's over. C'mon, the countdown will be starting soon."

As Maya snapped her fingers, Lucas and Riley snapped out of their trance, turning to see her raising her eyebrow expectantly.

Riley blushed at Maya's remark, slowly sliding her arms away from Lucas. Lucas coughed, putting a relaxed smile on his face. "Yeah. Let's go get the rest of them."

Maya briefly looked between the two, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Alright, let's go."

Maya turned on her heel, squeezing through the mass of students.

Riley turned to Lucas. "C'mon." She followed after Maya before she could stare any longer.

Soon, all of them were standing on the balcony outside in their coats, staring up at the night sky. The fireworks were down at the first floor, ready to take off into the sky. Riley wasn't sure how they weren't detected by satellites, resulting in their exposure, every year. But it worked, so she didn't question it. Probably some arrangement with the government.

"Ahh, this is so exciting!" Riley said excitedly, bouncing around. "A new year, guys! Welcome to our new lives!"

"Riles, things are gonna be exactly same as they were this year," Maya laughed. She paused as Riley gave her a subdued look. "Alright, whatever."

Riley grinned, before going back to being excited.

"The stars are really amazing tonight," Smackle remarked, gazing up at the sky dusted with twinkles specks. They all looked up, quietly admiring the vastness of the sky, and the mountains and forests that lay before them, and the world beyond.

In the distance, JASPA Village twinkled with dim lamps, quietly deserted and void of staff. The gardens below were silent as well, with the exception of a few patrol guards making their rounds. Over the balcony down below, Mr Fabray and Mr Brunwell were preparing the fireworks with several guards.

Riley gasped softly as a trail of light streaked across the sky, before vanishing into the darkness once more. "Make a wish!"

They silently closed their eyes, making their wishes for the new year up ahead.

Riley wished for more happiness, courage to face whatever was going to come her way, and hopefully some solutions to their ongoing problems. She wished for all her friends to be happy, Maya in particular, and for all of them to have another fantastic year at JASPA.

Riley wished for a lot of things.

"Okay folks, head on out if you wanna see the fireworks!"

They were suddenly surrounded by the excited students of JASPA, all pressing up to get as close to the balcony as they could. Riley glanced around. Farkle, Smackle and Zay had melted into the crowd. Riley shrugged. They would be fine.

She looked behind. There were several kids from Charlie class struggling to see the sky behind her. She smiled softly, before stepping aside and ushering them forward. They beamed up at her gratefully, gripping onto the balcony and talking excitedly.

Lucas and Maya followed suit, and the three moved further back until they found a comfortable spot in the middle of the crowd.

"Did I have to give up my spot for those stinking kids?" Maya sighed. Riley shoved her. "Be nice, Maya. Start the new year right."

Maya gave her a stink eye, before looping her arm with hers. They waited with everyone else.

"Hey Maya, what did you wish for?"

Maya pursed her lips in thought. "Not much. To get by with my grades, for more adventures and fun times, happiness for my mom and Shawn."

"What about me?" Riley exclaimed. Maya laughed. "I wished for you to have more sunshine in your endless supply of sunshine."

Riley grinned, but it wavered slightly. "And what about Josh?"

Maya tensed up, looking down at the ground. "What about him?"

"I…" Riley trailed off, unable to find a way to express it. "Nevermind."

Maya looked at her with a sad smile. "I won't start the new year being sad about it, Riles. I'm just going to have to accept that my year will not be spent with him."

Riley felt a pang of sadness as Maya turned away, looking back to the sky as they began the countdown.

She felt someone's gaze on her, and turned to her right to see Lucas watching her. He exchanged a silent, hopeful look. Riley shrugged, smiling sadly. Lucas nodded with understanding.

He leaned down closer to her ear, talking softly among the loud chatter around them. "It's alright. They'll come to their senses somehow."

Riley chewed on her lip. "Let's hope you're right."

Lucas smiled, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. Her free arm went around his torso comfortably.

"Hey Huckleberry, I don't appreciate having to share my best friend," Maya said pointedly, still linking arms with Riley as she gave him a look.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Let's not start the new year with nicknames, shall we?"

"No matter what you do, the nicknames aren't going to stop, so quit trying."

"It was worth a shot."

Riley giggled, pulling her two friends closer to her.

 _Ten. Nine._

Riley yelled loudly along with everyone else, enjoying the warmth of people surrounding her as they all looked up to the night sky together.

 _Eight._

She turned to her left, grinning at Maya. She looked around for the rest of her friends, but she couldn't find them in the crowd.

At that moment, she looked over Maya's head to see her uncle, standing two feet away.

 _Seven._

Riley's smile slipped off of her face. She stared at her uncle, and then down at Maya. As the opportunity screamed out at her, her heart began to race, and suddenly the cries around her were muffled out.

 _"Whoever you're with for New Year's is how you're going to spend the rest of the year."_

Riley looked between Josh and Maya. The leggy redhead was in their way, but as she stepped away, Riley knew what she had to do.

 _Six._

She removed her arms from Maya's arm and Lucas' torso.

 _Five._

With one shove, she sent Maya flying across the space between her and Josh. There were gasps in unison as Maya fell into Josh.

 _Four._

Riley watched, her heart pounding as Josh caught Maya, holding her tightly. They stared at each other in shock, eyes gleaming in the darkness of the night.

Satisfied, Riley spun around, and slammed straight into Lucas.

 _Three._

Riley found herself unable to breathe as his eyes shone in the dark. He stared down at her in equal shock, his gaze intense.

 _Two._

And then, the past five years came rushing back to her all at once. Every memory, every thought, every emotion. They surged through her with a force enough to knock her off her feet, and the courage she had been struggling to grasp onto filled her heart.

Her hand swiftly made its way to the back of his neck, and she pulled him down to her.

 _One._

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

His hands had wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

There was an unexplainable rush that she felt as his lips were pressed against hers, a warmth that went deeper into her soul than any fire, and a spark greater than all the fireworks in the sky.

As the sky above them burst into flashes of bright coloured light, Riley felt herself go numb. People around them were jumping and cheering with excitement, but for them, time stood still. All she could feel was him.

And all she knew, was that things were going to be very different this year.

* * *

 **HELLO THEY FINALLY KISSED WOOHOO I gave you guys an extra long chapter because who knows when I'll be updating next. I really wanted to get this chapter out, with all the drama on the GMW Writers Q &A spreading hate all through the fandom. No matter what you ship, always respect others, and just follow the story as it goes along. We never know what will happen, so just keep believing in your ship :) Rucas got a lot of hate over the weekend, so this is for you my fellow Rucas shippers! Don't feel discouraged. Our babies have great things in store for them.**

 **The most important thing to note is that Riley and Maya come before everything else. If any ship gets in the way of that, it's not worth it. And I hope everyone realises that.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Till next time! :)**

 **–malenburke**


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